The federal government is facing calls to respond to an effective ban on Chinese carmakers in the US with moves of its own.
Auto industry experts say any moves would be complicated, and risk slowing the pace of Australia’s transition to electric vehicles.
The Albanese government says it is “closely monitoring” the moves in the US, and is in talks with the Biden administration about any local implications.
The rise of Chinese vehicles seems like a natural evolution of the European/US/Australian/Japanese/Korean historical line.
What’s not clear to me is which of the hundreds of Chinese car manufacturers/brands will be around in the long run. When that shakes out, then I’ll start thinking about other factors.
And of course those same factors apply to all cars, no matter where their brand is from, where they are assembled, or where their parts are manufactured. So, eg, a Ford assembled in Thailand using Chinese chips may have the same issues as a Chinese brand built in China using Chinese parts. And even if the Ford is not using Chinese parts, the same issues exist, it’s just someone other than China.