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

New York Post ^ | May 8, 2026 | Daniel Farr

[nickcarraway]

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.

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TOPICS: Business/Economy; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS:

[Fai Mao]

Thank you, UAW

[Tell It Right]

Forbid Chinese cars from being sold here just like China forbids American cars.

[GenXPolymath]

They would have to repeal their sacred cow NAFTA to stop cross border people who hold dual nationality and residency in Mexico.

The NAFTA and reciprocity means a US resident can take their car into Mexico to work or personal us for 12 months before it must return to the USA, same for a dual national with Mexican plates and a Mexican residency. It’s 12 months before it must return. This was set up in recognitions that for places like elpaso and San Diego the border is just an imaginary line on a map in practical terms the peoples that populate those places are linked by bloodlines and economics as well.

Protectionism always fails. The American automakers need to stop gouging the US citizens they could make $20,000 cars they don’t want too they want to sell 80K pickups to truck bros who use them to go to a office job, the grocery store and the half naked girl “sports bars” these trucks never once see a job site or a dirt road or even pull a utility trailer. They at most will pull a ski board to the lake where 55+yo guys will be fawning over the 22-year-old girls that are only there to get a tan on the boat and drink for free plus all the booger sugar they can snort.

If China was allowed import it’s 5 passanger BYD plug in hybrid that gets 100mpg, has a 1200 mile range with 80 of that electric and sells for $15,000 USD they would sell out day one and corner the market for sedans that same day.

Again China is the largest vehicle market on Earth, they will dominate Mexico, and Canada for sure. They have real L4 autonomous vehicles what FSD is not allowed to be but could do today if the dips1st feds got out of the way. I have driven and ridden in the BYD L4 it is light years ahead of my FSD 14.3 which makes you pay.a attention or get a strike. The BYD let’s you sit in the back seat door to door. Like a waymo or robotaxi but its your car not a service.

[GenXPolymath]

You do know Tesla model Y is the number one vehicle sold in China right....RIGHT

[PGR88]

China literally has dozens of EV makers. It’s a standard Chinese development model - lots of state-bank money and investment poured into local manufacturers. Most will be bankrupted, and their bad debt it will hidden-away in state-run bank balance sheets

Extreme price-cutting, quality short-cuts, and worker “involution”to survive. Customer service, environmental controls and regulatory oversight are a joke.

After a 5 year market war, the few survivors at the end are very efficient and battle-tested.

Go ahead and buy a $20K Chinese EV from Mexico. Try and get service for it, see how long the battery lasts, or try to find parts for it.

[GenXPolymath]

Welp , Geely Galaxy Xingyuan just passed the model Y early this year and just barely as the numbers come in.

Geely owns Volvo too.

[Tell It Right]

Correct. I should have stated “forbid Chinese made cars like China forbids American made cars”. If I understand it correctly, China required Musk to make Teslas in China in order for them to be sold in China.

[MAGA2017]

U.S. auto makers are partly at fault here. Stop making really expensive vehicles loaded with all kinds of gizmos and electronics we really don’t need. Got back to making basic vehicles. I’ve seen videos of these electric Chinese cars and honestly I think they great for people on a budget, for students or people who just need a basic car for local driving.

[woodbutcher1963]

The last thing I would ever park on my property is a Chinese EV with a 1000 pound lithium/ion battery.

All these Ebike fires are from Chinese batteries that are not UL inspected.

People that are stupid enough to buy these deserve to have their house burn down

[MAGA2017]

I meant go back to making basic vehicles.

[Texas_Jarhead]

US automakers cannot build a car for $20k when you pay forklift drivers $50/hr plus benies

[SPDSHDW]

yes, US auto makers are gouging customers when the Feds require

Stringent emissions and crash safety standards
OBD2 systems(1996)
internal trunk releases for sedans/coupes(1980’s if I am not mistaken)
LATCH system
TPMS sensors(since 2006)
Backup Cameras(Late Trump I or Biden)
onboard 911 call systems(trump I)
adaptive braking systems(Biden)
nanny cams to sense for impaired driving(Biden)
Unrealistic CAFE standards for MPG(Bush/Obama)
Airbags

this is not an all inclusive list, this is just off the top of my head.

All this shit adds up, especially the LTE plan for the 911 system that the manufactures have to Eat since obviously you are not paying for that service.

[GenXPolymath]

BYD Shark pick up trucks are everywhere in Juarez and El Paso too. They feel pretty solid they are plug in hybrids and cost $50K in Mexico that’s half of what the F150 hybrid will cost of it ever makes it yo production the RamCharger..

The 2026 Ram 1500 Ramcharger (range-extended electric pickup) is expected to start around $60,000 to $75,000 for base models, with higher trim levels like the Tungsten potentially exceeding $100,000. The truck is scheduled to arrive at dealerships in late 2025 or early 2026, offering 145 miles of electric-only range and up to 690 miles total via a gas-powered generator.

One of my Mexican buddies has one it has Mexican plates he is a dual national being born here to dual citizen parents Tejanos have a 300+ year history with Mexico, and the indigenous Texans a 12000+ year history with Mexico the Rio Grande was only a border since 1836 for ten thousand years before that Comanche, Apache, Otomic the list is long crossed all over what was is now Northern Mexico, Texas , New Mexico, way up into the great Plains following the bison. You won’t meet a Tejano who.doesn’t have blood on both sides as some level. They didn’t cross the border the borders were drawn around them where they had lived for centuries really millenia

[GenXPolymath]

Yup Tesla makes its cars in China for the Chinese market and other Asian markets too. Labor is much cheaper and they automate everything they can. My buddy Greg is a engineer who does work for there factories he is a EE. My buddy Shawn is an engineer at Giga Austin I think on cybertruck now.

BYF builds it’s Mexico cars at its new huge factory in Mexico which technically under NAFTA makes them Mexican cars

[MAGA2017]

The cost of a new pick-up is totally insane. I’d rather buy a used one from the 1990s.

[GenXPolymath]

You can get a brand new 2026 Hyundai sonata for $28k right now and having done DMS systems back in the day for autotrader.com , DMI, and ADP where we got to see what a dealer actually pays the factory for a car vs MSRP and the actual sale.prices yeah 100% mark up was the norm it was more on SUV and pickups. This was 2010 so some of the new safety tech but not $15,000 worth for tire sensors and a couple side air bags again Hyundai or KIA will sell you a midsize for 22K or under new if your credit
don’t suck.

[GingisK]

Is Harbor Freight the approved dealership?

[faucetman]

“Chinese electric cars are driving into California”

Do they float?

[TexasGator]

“100% mark up was the norm “

No way.