The lobbying arm of nearly every major automaker selling cars in America is asking Congress to slam the door on Chinese vehicles and keep it slammed. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation published an open letter this week calling for "a permanent ban on the sale, import and manufacture of Chinese connected vehicles, hardware and software."
The Alliance is a Washington D.C.-based group whose membership reads like a roll call of the entire industry: General Motors, Ford, Stellantis, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, and Volkswagen, among others. Beyond the OEMs, it also represents suppliers, battery makers, semiconductor firms, technology companies, and autonomous-vehicle developers.
The letter is addressed to House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, House Minority Leader Hakim Jeffries, and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer — a deliberately bipartisan spread of recipients for what the group insists is a bipartisan problem.
This is not the group's first swing, notes the GM Authority. It has previously pushed for a ban on Chinese-made vehicles, hardware, and software in the U.S. This time it wants the prohibition made permanent.
The Alliance frames China's expansion in the global auto industry as a threat to both national security and the U.S. economy. Its core complaint, per the letter: Chinese automakers benefit from a state-backed industrial system built on heavy subsidies and unfair trade practices, meaning American companies are competing against Beijing's industrial policy rather than individual rivals. The letter cites growing Chinese market share in Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia, Mexico, and South America as evidence of what's coming.
Then there's the data angle. Chinese connected vehicles, according to the Alliance, are "capable of collecting, processing and transmitting sensitive vehicle and consumer data to the Chinese Communist Party."
“This hasn’t happened inside the U.S. yet, but given the scale and urgency of this threat, we urge you to enact a Chinese vehicle, software and hardware ban before adjourning this year and make this policy the law of the land," Alliance President and CEO John Bozella wrote in the letter.
The group is backing several bills to get there. The letter points to the Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026 (S. 4429), approved by the Senate Commerce Committee in July, and H.R. 8730, introduced by Representatives John Moolenaar and Debbie Dingell. The letter also cites Section 301 of the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act (H.R. 7389), which, according to the Alliance, would bar foreign adversaries, China included, from building, importing, or selling vehicles in the United States.
[Images: BYD, Rep. Mike Johnson, Sen. Chuck Schumer]
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