The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a lobby group representing the car industry, is calling on Congress to introduce an outright ban on Chinese-made cars, parts and software, citing data privacy and national security concerns.
John Bozzella, the group’s chief executive and president, wrote to congressional leaders this week requesting a ban on the sale, importation and manufacture of Chinese-made vehicles, hardware and software. The move follows growing bipartisan support in Washington for such measures.
What the proposed legislation covers
Among the relevant measures is the Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026, which prohibits the importation, manufacture, sale, resale or introduction into US interstate commerce of connected vehicles and related software and hardware components associated with China, Russia, Iran or North Korea.
In his letter, Bozzella described the Chinese government’s policies as rooted in a well-documented pattern of unfair trade, subsidies, intellectual property theft and surveillance. The industry body expressed urgency, asking Congress to enact a ban before it ends its session for the year. It argued that a permanent ban would send a clear and bipartisan message that China’s strategy to dominate global car manufacturing would be met with a national security policy response from the American government.
Data privacy and the wider market
Established carmakers selling to US consumers have faced their own scrutiny from regulators over driver privacy. In 2025, the Federal Trade Commission ordered General Motors not to sell driver data for five years, while an investigation that year found nearly every carmaker collects and shares data on driver behaviour.
Chinese cars, and electric vehicles in particular, have grown in popularity around the world thanks to their affordability. One reason prices are so low is that manufacturers receive significant government subsidies. Chinese carmakers are currently blocked from selling to US consumers largely by high tariffs.
