Politicians say they have “national security concerns.” In fact, Chinese cars are better and cheaper, and American corporations know they can’t survive market competition.

cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/49178

Why They Don’t Want You Driving a Chinese Car

I took my first ride in a Chinese car recently. Not in the U.S., of course, since sky-high tariffs have made them almost impossible to import. I was visiting family in the U.K., and we rented a BYD Sealion SUV. And let me tell you: I saw immediately why American car companies are desperate to have these things kept out of this country. It was elegantly designed, incredibly comfortable, and a smooth ride.

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  • hemko@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    14·
    5 hours ago

    You can safely assume that everything that goes through the car’s computer is sent to the manufacturer, no difference if it’s Tesla, BYD or BMW

    • boonhet@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      2·
      1 hour ago

      They all do it, but at the very least, European manufacturers are liable for GDPR violations for cars being used in the EU.

      I was sent a tiktok link by someone recently so I opened it and this is what they have showing on their website:

      Remote-access “transfers of EEA User Data to China”: Update on Irish GDPR decision

      In April 2025, the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) found that TikTok had not complied with GDPR requirements in relation to transfers of some “EEA User Data to China by way of remote access”. The DPC ordered TikTok to bring its transfers into compliance within 6 months, failing which they must be suspended. TikTok strongly disagrees with the DPC’s decision and is appealing through the Irish courts. The High Court of Ireland has paused the decision while that happens, allowing the transfers to continue for now.

      They straight up don’t give a fuck, they’ll just continue doing what they’re doing and appeal it through the courts.

      What happens if they do lose? They’ll just close down their European operations and leave a huge sign blaming the GDPR and people will complain until they get special privileges. Because as a Chinese company, they can easily afford to lose a huge market like Europe.

      BYD, Geely, etc can do the same. China’s got enough leverage on us.

    • Reygle@lemmy.worldEnglish
      6·
      5 hours ago

      Not wrong, I’d find the LTE hardware and put a faraday cage around it even if it were BMW, Tesla (yuck, car for dumasses and nazis) or General Motors- but when you KNOW the company is required by law in their country to share data collected with an opposition government, the reasons for caring don’t just increase, they launch to space.

    • GarbadgeGoober@feddit.orgEnglish
      22·
      5 hours ago

      Well back in 2016, when I was working for a European car manufacturer, all the data of cars in China went straight to a mirror server of the government. For all other countries the data was stored at the company servers.

      Back then Chinese EV vehicles were no thing, so not sure how they handle it now.

      But as you said, you can safely assume all the data goes to someone. Depends if they have something like GDPR in place or not, they can see most of your data and connect it to he user account.