The automotive manufacturing landscape has shifted rapidly over the past decade. However, even those who predicted the rise of Tesla and the shift toward electrification likely didn’t envision a future where America would be staring down an inevitable shift to Chinese electric cars. According to a recent survey of more than 100 U.S. automotive executives, it’s not a matter of whether Chinese automakers will enter the U.S. market but when.
We’re not talking about a slim margin of worrywarts, here, either. Of the bosses who responded to Kerrigan Advisors’ 2025 OEM Survey, more than three-fourths (76 percent) said they believed Chinese cars would eventually enter the U.S. market. And separately, 70 percent of respondents said they were concerned about the financial impact of China’s growing dominance in the global automotive market.
Reading between the lines, six percent of respondents believe China’s automotive invasion is inevitable, but don’t find it financially concerning—or perhaps, more realistically, five percent plus Elon Musk.
It’s worth noting that the survey did not elaborate on its definition of “executive,” though it makes clear that the pool surveyed works directly with OEM, meaning automakers and not other areas of the automotive industry. Whether these are medium-level “account executives” or C-Suite decision-makers. Either way, the sentiment on Chinese cars arriving in the U.S. seems to be shared across the board.
It’s also important to note that Kerrigan Advisors conducted this survey before the administration announced its tariff plans—the first time, presumably—but automakers have shown reluctance to make any significant moves based on the president’s threatened levies, even against close trade allies. At most, importers are pressing “pause” on some of their U.S. programs. After all, the typical development cycle for a car is longer than a single presidential term.
So while the next four years may prove hostile enough to EVs and other automotive ventures to help stave off immediate pressure to import cheaper Chinese electric cars, it’s being accelerated elsewhere in the world. Governments that might otherwise engage in a hard-line protectionist stance against Chinese manufacturing have been caving one by one in the face of rising consumer costs and the simple fact that China has committed itself to being the most prolific manufacturer of EVs on the planet. Simply put, it’s working, and everybody has noticed.
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