Sooren Moosavy, a 28-year-old Baltimore resident, is on a quest for an affordable electric vehicle (EV) in the United States. Motivated by environmental concerns and a love for the smooth, quiet ride of EVs, he’s narrowed his search to three models—BYD, Geely, and Zeekr. But there’s a catch: these vehicles, all made by Chinese automakers, are essentially unavailable in the U.S. market. "I would love the opportunity to be able to get one in or even test-drive one," Moosavy told Reuters, expressing a sentiment shared by a growing number of American consumers squeezed by the rising cost of new cars.
Moosavy’s predicament is emblematic of a larger shift in global car buying. As the average price of a new car in the U.S. approaches $50,000, many Americans are looking abroad—specifically to China—for more affordable options. Chinese EVs, which often retail for under $30,000 in Europe and come loaded with features like advanced driving assistance, built-in mini fridges, and even karaoke systems, are making waves overseas. According to Clint Simone of the car-shopping site Edmunds, "The technology they offer for those lower price tags was astounding." Simone drove several Chinese vehicles at the CES trade show earlier this year and was impressed by their plush interiors and innovative tech.
But while Chinese EVs are cruising the streets of Europe, Latin America, and even Canada, American consumers face a formidable barrier: tariffs exceeding 100%, imposed by the U.S. government in an effort to protect domestic jobs and address data security concerns. The result? Chinese cars are effectively banned from U.S. showrooms. Meanwhile, Canada has recently slashed tariffs to 6.1% on an initial allowance of 49,000 Chinese EVs per year, and Mexico is importing Chinese EVs en masse, with automakers eyeing local factory space.
The global influence of Chinese automakers is hard to ignore. In recent years, China has surged past Japan to become the world’s top vehicle exporter. According to Reuters, Chinese brands like BYD, Geely, and Leapmotor are now at the forefront of EV innovation, reshaping the industry with rapid software updates and cutting-edge technology. A striking example comes from Germany, where a Leapmotor C10 was tested on the Autobahn. When its driver-assistance system braked sharply and veered unexpectedly, Martin Resch, Leapmotor International’s Germany head, reported the issue to engineers in Hangzhou. Within hours, a software update was beamed to the car, fixing the problem—an agility that would have taken weeks at a traditional European carmaker.
American consumers are taking note. A recent Cox Automotive survey found that nearly half (49%) of 802 U.S. consumers planning to buy a car in the next two years rated Chinese vehicles as offering very good or excellent value, and 40% supported the idea of Chinese auto brands entering the U.S. market. Rich Benoit, a popular car enthusiast whose YouTube reviews of Chinese models have garnered millions of views, summed up the appeal: "That’s what a lot of people are looking for: efficient, quiet and low cost. They want to get to work – not everyone is a car enthusiast." Benoit is even considering buying a BYD in Mexico and driving it across the border, saying, "That's the only way to get one. They've been selling in Mexico for years... I want to own a Chinese EV in America."
Despite consumer enthusiasm, the American auto industry and political leaders remain firmly opposed. Earlier this month, major auto trade groups urged the U.S. government to keep Chinese automakers out, citing competitiveness concerns. At a Ford plant event in January, Republican Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio declared, "As long as I have air in my body, there will not be Chinese vehicles sold in the United States of America." The Chinese embassy in Washington, for its part, has defended the quality and innovation of Chinese-made cars, attributing their global popularity to these strengths.
While the U.S. debates the future of Chinese EVs, other regions are forging ahead with their own strategies. In Africa, particularly Nigeria, kit-based assembly is emerging as a pragmatic solution to the high cost of fully assembled imports. Lagos-based Saglev Micromobility Nigeria, for example, has partnered with Dongfeng Motor Corporation of Wuhan, China, to assemble 18-seat electric passenger vans from imported kits. This approach reduces costs, creates jobs, and builds local technical expertise—critical steps for expanding EV access on the continent.
Other Nigerian companies, such as CIG Motors and NEV Electric, are also leveraging kit assembly. CIG Motors operates a plant in Lagos producing vehicles from Chinese brands like GAC Motor and Wuling Motors, including the compact Wuling Bingo and the Hongguang Mini EV Macaron, which boasts a range of about 200 kilometers. NEV Electric, meanwhile, focuses on electric buses and three-wheelers for urban transit and last-mile delivery. According to Olu Faleye, Saglev’s CEO, Nigeria’s EV transition is as much about practical economics as environmental stewardship. Electric vans and mini-trucks, for instance, could help reduce Nigeria’s staggering post-harvest food losses—estimated at 30–40 million tonnes annually—by powering refrigeration systems during transport without relying on costly diesel fuel.
The kit-assembly trend is spreading beyond Nigeria, with companies in Kenya and Ghana adopting similar strategies. Ghana’s government, for example, offers import-duty exemptions and tax breaks to spur local EV assembly. Saglev has already established a plant in Accra and plans to expand operations to Côte d’Ivoire, signaling that West Africa is intent on catching up with global electrification efforts.
However, infrastructure challenges persist. Nigerian households experience frequent blackouts—six or seven per week, each lasting about 12 hours, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Over 40% of households rely on generators, which supply nearly half of residential electricity. As a result, many early EV adopters charge their vehicles with gasoline or diesel generators. While this may seem counterintuitive from an environmental perspective, a 2020 study in Environmental and Climate Technologies found that generating electricity with a generator to power an EV can be just as efficient overall as burning the same fuel directly in a combustion engine.
For Saglev and its peers, kit-based assembly is a practical step forward. Olu Faleye is candid about the limitations: "I don’t believe that the promised land is making a fully built EV on the ground here. For me to do efficient vehicle manufacturing, I’d need a lot of robotics and 3D printing. That expense is unnecessary—it would just increase costs and make EVs more expensive." In a country where electricity can disappear for days, incremental progress and ingenuity matter more than perfect infrastructure.
Back in the U.S., the debate over Chinese EVs is far from settled. While tariffs and trade barriers keep Chinese models out of American driveways for now, consumer interest and global trends suggest that the story is still unfolding. Whether through policy shifts, local assembly, or cross-border workarounds, the race for affordable, innovative electric vehicles is heating up—and the world is watching closely.