Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm reportedly has apprehensions about China’s growing influence in the electric vehicle market with its cheaper vehicle offerings.
What Happened: Granholm, speaking at an Axios event in Washington, highlighted the potential threat of China’s ability to dominate the U.S. EV market, reported Reuters.
Granholm emphasized the need to avoid a repeat of China’s impact on the solar panel market. While solar technology was invented in the U.S., China later flooded the market, she said.
The energy secretary further pointed out that the U.S. could counter China’s significant investments aimed at dominating the U.S. manufacturing industry by leveraging incentives from the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other programs to reduce the prices of domestic EVs.
“China is investing massive amounts for the purpose of bigfooting, and so we need to understand that it is important for people to buy electric vehicles in an affordable fashion,” she reportedly said.
Why It Matters: The U.S. government has been increasingly wary of China’s influence in the automotive industry. In February, the White House said that the U.S. has initiated an investigation into connected vehicles with technology from “countries of concern,” including China, due to national security concerns.
"China is determined to dominate the future of the auto market, including by using unfair practices. China’s policies could flood our market with its vehicles, posing risks to our national security," Biden then said. "I’m not going to let that happen on my watch."
Chinese automakers presently do not have a significant market in the U.S., partly due to the high tariffs imposed on vehicle imports from China.
However, major U.S. automakers have been flagging concerns about Chinese EV makers entering the domestic market via neighboring countries like Mexico in a bid to evade the high tariffs. The fears have escalated since reports of Chinese EV giant BYD Co Ltd eyeing a factory in Mexico.
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