It only took a brief drive in a Zeekr 7X to convince me: Chinese cars are now competitive and could be sold in the US tomorrow. The compact battery-electric crossover, a bestseller in Europe, is aimed directly at the Tesla Model Y with its five seats, two rows, impressive road grip, energetic performance, and smooth ride. Its price in China is around $32,000 — about $7,000 cheaper than Elon Musk’s crossover.
If you’ve followed automotive news recently, you might come away thinking Chinese cars are destined for the US, with Geely among the best positioned to break through first. That’s certainly a possibility — especially after President Donald Trump seemingly threw open the doors to Chinese automakers in a recent speech. The quid pro quo: They must be built in the US. Geely recently confirmed it was “actively evaluating” a possible entry into the world’s second-largest auto market and would have a decision within three years.
Geely is best placed to build cars here: It has had an auto plant up and running in South Carolina since 2018, where it builds Volvo and Polestar vehicles. If Geely does attempt to enter the US market under its own brands, it likely won’t happen before 2029.
Still, climbing out of the Zeekr 7X, I wondered — even if it were built in the US — whether it could legally be sold here. Will restrictions on automotive software that originates in China keep it out indefinitely? Or will Geely find a way to convince the US government that its technology poses no threat to US national security?
From mass market to luxury
Most US drivers won’t have heard of Geely, if they think about Chinese cars at all. Yet last year, parent company Geely Holding sold more than 4.1 million cars, making it China’s second-largest carmaker after BYD. It offers multiple brands that include Volvo, Polestar, Lotus, Malaysia’s Proton, Geely, Lynk & Co, Zeekr, and others.
During CES last month, I got a chance for brief track drives in three vehicles from three different Geely brands. The last time I’d driven a Chinese car was August 2020; that Xpeng P7 simply wasn’t ready for primetime. It was one of only two cars I’ve driven where I could overwhelm the anti-lock brakes. But Chinese automakers innovate so fast that a 2020 Xpeng might as well have been from the late 1990s.
The Geely cars I drove would likely generate strong demand here in the US — as they already do in Mexico. That’s terrifying Detroit and European automakers alike, with GM CEO Mary Barra recently sounding the alarm about Chinese EVs coming to North America. New Chinese brands might choose to target anything from the low end of the mass market to the premium and luxury sector.
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