Say goodbye to the U.S. car market as we know it: Cheap Chinese EVs are coming

After years of preparation, Chinese car companies are poised to upend the U.S. electric-vehicle market.

Industry watchers say it's only a matter of time before Chinese automakers bring their impressive — and importantly, inexpensive — electric cars to the U.S. After years of threatening to set up shop on American shores, the companies are closer than ever to making the move to the U.S.

On their home turf, Chinese companies have already vanquished their American competitors, eating up market share from the likes of Ford and General Motors by offering better quality and less expensive electric cars for shoppers. They've started exporting a slew of brands to Europe too.

As Chinese car industry leaders like Nio and Geely eye a move to the States, the big question is can they overcome political frictions – and will American buyers go along for the ride?

"It's going to be an interesting couple of years ahead to see whether Ford and GM and the like can stave off that Chinese competition coming in," said Martin French, a managing director at the consultancy Berylls. "From what we saw at the Shanghai auto show this year, that competition is very, very real."

China's EV industry has exploded in recent years. In 2022, U.S. EV sales hit a new high of 800,000, while Chinese buyers snapped up some 5 million all-electric passenger vehicles. After years unchallenged, Tesla is about to lose its crown as the world's largest EV maker to a Chinese company, BYD.