Having achieved access to Mexican and Canadian car buyers and building on their unprecedented takeover of the European market, Chinese automakers are knocking on our door. Will Americans answer?

Among dealers, the debate over allowing Chinese automakers into the U.S. market is almost all anyone is talking about. We are uniquely positioned to recognize the threat China poses as it exports its excess capacity around the world. How the U.S. responds next will be deeply consequential, not just for our industry but for our country.

As dealers, our stores are the final link in a large and complex industry chain. Every vehicle we sell represents a long line of suppliers, factory workers, engineers, transporters, and local employees whose livelihoods depend on a healthy, balanced industry. Opening the door to Chinese automakers, whether through imports or U.S.-based manufacturing, risks undercutting that entire system.

China’s auto sector, which now includes more than 30 brands active in international markets, isn’t operating on a level playing field. It is heavily subsidized, vertically coordinated, and, in many cases, intertwined with state priorities. That model allows Chinese brands to keep prices low in ways that other manufacturers and their suppliers simply can’t match. If Chinese automakers are allowed to sell in the U.S., the result wouldn’t be more competition — it would be a rapid erosion of domestic suppliers already operating on thin margins. The supplier collapse would then ripple outward, eliminating more jobs than any new assembly plants might create.

It might be easy to dismiss a car dealer’s opinion on who should be allowed to sell in the U.S., but we don’t need a crystal ball to know what happens next if the Chinese are given entrée to our stores and roads. Europe allowed open access and is now scrambling to respond as Chinese EVs have doubled their EU market share from 4 to 8 percent in just the past year. Mexico has seen a similar decimation of their market. There, Chinese vehicles have had an explosive rise — from two to 20 percent of market share between 2021 and 2025. China is now the number one source of imported vehicles in Mexico. Once that ground is lost, it’s nearly impossible to recover.

Americans should also be asking questions about what, exactly, we’re applauding when we admire inexpensive Chinese cars. A system built on state subsidies, questionable labor practices, and documented links between industry and government, including military alignment, should give us pause. As policy makers prepare to respond to ramped up Chinese efforts to penetrate our shores they should remember: Market access is a privilege, not a right.

Then there’s the issue of data. Modern vehicles are 5,000-pound rolling computers, constantly collecting and transmitting information. Allowing companies tied to a strategic rival nation access to U.S. transportation networks, not to mention personal data, raises legitimate national security concerns about privacy, critical infrastructure, and long-term technological dependence.

Fortunately, some lawmakers are already taking a stand against Chinese incursion. Senators Bernie Moreno and Elissa Slotkin recently introduced the bipartisan Connected Vehicle Security Act, which would ban automobiles, parts, and vehicle software made in China or in partnership with China, from the U.S. market. The Commerce Department last year issued a rule that restricted Chinese sales in the U.S., but the introduction of a Senate bill marks an effort to codify the rule into law. In a rare show of unity, more than 70 House Democrats have also signed a letter urging President Trump to prevent Chinese automakers from accessing the U.S. market.

Competition is healthy, but it has to be fair, and it has to support and protect a system that impacts millions of American jobs. The stakes here aren’t just about what we sell on our lots, they’re about the future of our industry and the national security of our country.

All the Best,

Mike Darrow
AIADA Chairman