Will you ever be able to buy a Chinese EV in the US? DC says no

• A group of 50 U.S. House members is urging the Trump administration to block the sale of Chinese electric vehicles in the United States.
• A bipartisan Senate bill has been introduced to ban Chinese EVs, citing concerns over national security and unfair competition.
• High tariffs and federal rules currently prevent Chinese EVs, such as those from BYD, from being sold in the U.S. market.

President Donald Trump's trip to China is prompting a furious push among lawmakers and lobbying groups for carmakers and part manufacturers to adopt legislation to block the sale of Chinese EVs in the United States.

A group of 50 members of the U.S. House of Representatives said in a letter to members of Trump's Cabinet who deal with trade issues that the president and his administration should do everything to prevent Chinese EVs from being sold in the United States because their entry would severely undercut domestic manufacturers.

"China’s goal is not to compete in the U.S. automotive market, but instead to hollow it out and ultimately limit consumer choice to Chinese brands," the lawmakers wrote in a May 6 letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Trade Ambassador Jamieson Greer. "Allowing Chinese automotive and battery companies to manufacture in the U.S. would jeopardize our national security."

Separately, a bipartisan bill has been introduced in the Senate to ban Chinese EVs from being sold in the United States. Supporters say the measure, known as Connected Vehicle Security Act, is necessary because Chinese EV makers do not play by the same labor and motor vehicle safety standards as American manufacturers.

"China is using automobiles as a weapon to infiltrate America, destroy our manufacturing base, & spy on us," Sen. Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Republican, said in an X post. "We will hermetically seal the US from Chinese predators once & for all."

The Senate bill's Democratic sponsor, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, added in an X post of her own "the Chinese Communist Party has a strategy. They steal tech, reverse engineer it, build it at scale, and then they heavily subsidize it so it undercuts the market."

"That's why when it comes to our U.S. auto industry, our auto workers, I'm not gonna go down without a fight," Slotkin continued.

Who is China's biggest EV seller?

BYD is the biggest EV seller in China. It also briefly became the world's largest EV maker in 2025, overtaking Tesla for a short time. The company's name is an acronym that stands for "Build Your Dreams." It was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.

BYD sold 4,602,436 passenger and commercial vehicles in 2025, according to the company's December sales report.

The sales figure included 2,256,714 battery electric cars, 2,288,709 plug-in hybrids and 57,013 commercial vehicles.

How much do BYD's Chinese EVs cost?

BYD's cars that are sold in Europe have an average cost of $45,083, according to the company's website. It also has compact electric models that start as low as $28,000.

The average sales price of a new electric car in the United States in January was $55,715, according to Kelley Blue Book.

Critics say BYD is able to offer cheaper electric cars than their U.S. counterparts because they do not have to abide by American labor standards for compensation and work conditions. They add that domestic automakers would have to sell their EVs at a loss to compete with BYD on pricing.

Why can't I buy a Chinese EV in the US?

BYD's electric cars are currently not sold in the United States because of factors such as high tariffs that are currently in place and federal rules regarding connected car technology and vehicle safety standards that the company sees as restrictive.

BYD currently sells commercial vehicles in the United States, but the company's U.S.-branch CEO has said in interviews that she thinks the American market is "too restrictive."

In a May 2024 interview with Yahoo Finance, BYD America CEO Stella Li said the American EV market is, "an interesting market but it's very complicated." As consumer interest has appeared to wane, other factors have further complicated the landscape, Li said.

The Trump administration has imposed a 100% tariff on all Chinese imports, including cars, making it fiscally prohibitive for BYD to sell cars in America.

The Trump administration has opposed BYD's entry in the United States, and leaders have also criticized Canadian officials for striking a trade deal with China.