Chinese electric cars are driving into California as officials hit the panic button

A wave of low-cost Chinese-made vehicles is slipping into California through Mexico — and the issue is now headed to Washington.Panicked lawmakers are working to close a border loophole that allows cars that would never clear US safety or emissions standards to enter the country.In Mexican border cities like Tijuana’s Zona Río, dealerships are packed with new electric vehicles, hybrids, and SUVs, many of them Chinese-built and priced around $20,000.That undercuts the American market so drastically that even basic new cars cost far more in the US.Congress is now looking at the issue more critically, with a motion to ban Chinese vehicles from US roads completely.Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) of the Select Committee on China and Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) announced Thursday they plan to introduce a bill later this month.“Every vehicle on American roads is a rolling data collection device, capturing information on location, movement, people, and infrastructure in real time, and we cannot allow Chinese vehicles or components to be a part of that system,” the lawmakers said.“The legislation we introduce will show bipartisan support for doing what must be done to protect the manufacturing sector, jobs, and the American people from China’s predatory trade practices and manipulative attacks on American industry.”Lawmakers and officials are sending the same message: Chinese vehicles are already here.

Online discussions and commuter reports have also pointed to the growing presence of Chinese-branded vehicles from companies like BYD, MG and Chirey appearing in Southern California traffic, with some Reddit users in communities like r/tijuana describing cross-border ownership as relatively straightforward for Mexican residents working in San Diego.One contributor wrote, “I owned a new vehicle bought in Mexico while I lived in Tijuana and worked in San Diego.You won’t have any problems at all,” reflecting how the temporary admission framework is b...