Ford Motor and other carmakers are seeking U.S. authorization to keep selling China-built models already available in American showrooms, as security-driven curbs on the sales of connected-vehicles are already disrupting U.S. automakers' production plans. Ford asked the U.S. Commerce Department for authorization to continue importing the China-built Lincoln Nautilus sport utility vehicle (SUV), one of a small number of China-built vehicles that automakers were already selling in the U.S. before the connected-vehicle restrictions came into force. Ford said that the Nautilus' software is developed in the U.S. but installed into the vehicle in China, meaning the China-built SUV requires government approval for continued U.S. sales under the new rule, Reuters reported.
The connected-vehicle rule restricts certain China-linked software and hardware in vehicles sold in the U.S. on national security grounds. Its software curbs apply from the 2027 model year, followed by hardware restrictions from the 2030 model year. The automaker is likely to begin importing 2027 model year Nautilus vehicles in January, leaving only several months to secure approval for continued U.S. sales. Ford's authorization request shows that U.S. restrictions on Chinese auto technology and supply chains are beginning to hit U.S. automakers' own global production networks, Li Yong, Executive Council Member of the China Society for WTO Studies, told the Global Times. “Modern auto production is a deeply integrated supply-chain system in which China plays a key role, and U.S. automakers are closely tied to China's mature supply chains and vast market,” Li said. “Forced disruption of these links could raise costs, weaken supply stability and undercut their competitiveness.”
The problem for Washington is that the auto industry cannot be decoupled by decree, Li said. “Many auto parts are tied to specific models, technical routes and quality-control systems, and supplier relationships take years to build, leaving automakers with few immediate alternatives that can match China's efficiency, cost and reliability.” Volvo Cars, majority-owned by China's Geely, said in May that it had received authorization. The Ford case comes as some U.S. observers question whether protectionism can help the U.S. auto industry catch up. Forbes cited industry expert Michael Dunne as saying that “the current strategy of just throwing up a wall” to keep out Chinese vehicles is not workable in the long run for the U.S. China business expert Ker Gibbs said that the U.S. needs “a much more nuanced and more strategic approach,” including allowing Chinese electric vehicle makers to invest in the U.S., build vehicles locally, bring their technology, and comply with U.S. data and software rules, the Global Times reports.
