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Chinese-made electric vehicles aren’t widely available yet in the United States – and may never be after the Biden administration moved to quadruple import tariffs on them, to 100 percent.
President Biden said the move was necessary to protect American workers and businesses after years of “unfair trade practices” by China that give the nation a dominant role in global manufacturing.
China’s rise in EVs has been eye-popping. Chinese consumers, who favored Western autos in much of the gas-powered era, are flocking in droves to domestic EVs. China’s automakers are also exporting floods of the vehicles to Europe, Southeast Asia and other markets, where they’ve gained market share through their low prices and quality metrics that even Tesla CEO Elon Musk has praised. Chinese automaker BYD, which stands for Build Your Dreams, and Tesla are neck-and-neck as the world’s top-selling EV makers.
Chinese EVs are still a rarity on U.S. roads, but with some Chinese automakers eyeing more production in Mexico for possible export to the United States, the Biden administration wanted to move quickly to protect U.S. industry. Here are some of the more popular vehicles that China exports.
Polestar 2
This high-end vehicle is one of few made-in-China EVs available for sale in the United States. Polestar is headquartered in Sweden and controlled by Chinese billionaire Li Shufu, founder of the automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. Polestar manufactures its vehicles in China for export to the United States, Europe and other markets. The Polestar 2 starts at about $50,000 in the United States.
BYD Seagull
The EV that best sums up China’s threat to global automakers is the Seagull, a compact hatchback from BYD that starts around $10,000 inside China. BYD charges about double that price in Latin America, where the tiny car, known as the Dolphin Mini in some markets, is available in Colombia, Brazil and Chile. BYD is planning to sell a version of the Seagull in Europe for less than 20,000 euros ($21,700), a company official told the Financial Times last week.
BYD ATTO 3
The electric crossover is sold in Europe, Singapore, Costa Rica, Thailand, India and other markets. After price cuts early this year in Germany, one version of the vehicle was selling for about 37,990 euros ($41,300) – more than twice the price inside China, according to Rhodium Group.
BYD BYD ATTO 3
MG4
One of China’s largest automakers, state-owned SAIC, bought the British MG brand in the early 2000s. The electric hatchback MG4, manufactured in China, entered the European market in late 2022 with a starting price of 28,990 euros ($31,000).
MG MG4
Volvo EX30
Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group bought Sweden’s Volvo Cars in 2010 and now makes the electric Volvo EX30 in China. The car has a list price starting at 33,000 pounds ($42,000) in Britain. Volvo says it will start manufacturing the vehicle in Belgium next year, for European sale.
Volvo Volvo EX30
Neta V-II
China’s Neta Auto recently unveiled this EV at the Bangkok International Auto Show. The automaker is hoping to build on its sales of the older Neta V, which sells in Thailand, Indonesia and other markets at prices ranging from $15,000 to $20,000.
