Brown’s bill is not only about China EVs, a topic that has garnered numerous headlines since the Biden administration in May put additional tariffs on EVs imported from China. Gas-powered cars can be equipped with internet connectivity, too. So it won’t just be the Polestar, the Chinese luxury EV sedan made by Geely Automotive, majority owners of Volvo today. It will also be any other Chinese brand and may open up a can of worms for American cars made in China and sold here, too, such as the Lincoln Nautilus, which is a connected vehicle.
As written, the CAR Act would only ban the operation of these so-called “connected vehicles” made by Chinese companies (or other foreign adversaries).
“With the rapid advancement of vehicle technology, ensuring the security of information and communications technology in connected vehicles has become paramount,” Michael Stumo, CPA’s CEO said during a press conference on Monday with the Senator. “Vehicles equipped with Chinese-made technologies pose significant risks, including the potential for reconnaissance and surveillance,” he said.
Brown wants to go beyond the current tariffs on Chinese cars and outright ban importing cars with wireless internet capabilities. Due to geographic restrictions, it would be almost impossible to own a China car with internet capabilities.
On May 20, a week after Biden announced he was keeping the Trump-era Section 301 tariffs and adding new ones, Brown said on his X social media account that, “I want to make sure our privacy is protected and it won’t be with all of these Chinese connected vehicles.”
China is the world’s No. 1 producer of EVs. That segment remains China’s main entry into the global automotive market, especially in the West.
Polestar models are mostly made in China, but the Polestar 3 sedan will be manufactured in Ridgeville, South Carolina later this summer. That facility would be able to get around the CAR Act, if it were enacted into law, by offering non-connected versions, or by using non-China made (or Russian) wireless technologies on board the vehicle instead.
The technology subject to the CAR Act restrictions refers to communications equipment installed on connected vehicles that are made in adversarial nations.
Brown told the Dayton Daily News that, “The goal is stop this before the cars are driving down our road. The earlier they do this is better. This is pre-empting a major problem.”
Senator Sherrod Brown Wants To Make It Nearly Impossible To Drive a Chinese Car
Polestar owners might be stuck to within a strict geographical radius if they want to keep driving. Should Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) get his way, no Chinese EV can be driven within 25 miles of a Defense Department property, which likely means military housing, war colleges, and of course military bases. If Brown’s new bill – the Countering Adversary Reconnaissance (CAR) Act of 2024 – passes, good luck driving a China EV on Cape Cod, or in Washington DC.
An EV usually relies on new technologies that can connect the vehicle to other wireless tech devices, like a smart phone or a laptop. For Brown, that means the tech on board a Polestar, or any China-made car with an onboard modem, has the ability to work as a hacking machine on wheels.
“Chinese connected cars collect vast amounts of data, making them a threat to our national security and Ohioans’ privacy – we can’t let them near our military bases, and should not let them into the country to begin with,” Brown said in a statement on Monday. “Our bill will help stop Chinese connected vehicles from infiltrating the American market and getting a foothold in this country.”
China Tech Could Be Banned in All Cars
Brown’s bill is not only about China EVs, a topic that has garnered numerous headlines since the Biden administration in May put additional tariffs on EVs imported from China. Gas-powered cars can be equipped with internet connectivity, too. So it won’t just be the Polestar, the Chinese luxury EV sedan made by Geely Automotive, majority owners of Volvo today. It will also be any other Chinese brand and may open up a can of worms for American cars made in China and sold here, too, such as the Lincoln Nautilus, which is a connected vehicle.
As written, the CAR Act would only ban the operation of these so-called “connected vehicles” made by Chinese companies (or other foreign adversaries).
“With the rapid advancement of vehicle technology, ensuring the security of information and communications technology in connected vehicles has become paramount,” Michael Stumo, CPA’s CEO said during a press conference on Monday with the Senator. “Vehicles equipped with Chinese-made technologies pose significant risks, including the potential for reconnaissance and surveillance,” he said.
Brown wants to go beyond the current tariffs on Chinese cars and outright ban importing cars with wireless internet capabilities. Due to geographic restrictions, it would be almost impossible to own a China car with internet capabilities.
On May 20, a week after Biden announced he was keeping the Trump-era Section 301 tariffs and adding new ones, Brown said on his X social media account that, “I want to make sure our privacy is protected and it won’t be with all of these Chinese connected vehicles.”
China is the world’s No. 1 producer of EVs. That segment remains China’s main entry into the global automotive market, especially in the West.
Polestar models are mostly made in China, but the Polestar 3 sedan will be manufactured in Ridgeville, South Carolina later this summer. That facility would be able to get around the CAR Act, if it were enacted into law, by offering non-connected versions, or by using non-China made (or Russian) wireless technologies on board the vehicle instead.
The technology subject to the CAR Act restrictions refers to communications equipment installed on connected vehicles that are made in adversarial nations.
Brown told the Dayton Daily News that, “The goal is stop this before the cars are driving down our road. The earlier they do this is better. This is pre-empting a major problem.”
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