8:45 am, February 5, 2026
American car dealers are seeking to block Chinese manufacturers from entering the market with cheap vehicles.
Speaking at the NADA conference, Mike Stanton, CEO of the trade organisation, claimed Chinese cars were ‘bad for the country’ and ‘bad for the industry’.
He said 95% of the car dealers he represents want to ‘keep Chinese car makers out’ of the US.
Chinese car manufactures are subject to 100% tariffs in the States, but the likes of BYD, Chery and others could still undercut homegrown car makers if they bought their cars into the US.
In the UK, Chinese car sales are growing rapidly and are likely to take as much as 20% market share by 2030. Last year, they swallowed up 10% of all car sales.
However, in the States, car dealers are a forceful lobby group and are well known to do battle with perceived threats to their industry.
Stanton said: ‘We’re not telling dealers not to take the Chinese franchises. We’re gonna support policies, though, to keep them out.’
Car dealers in the States are struggling with higher interest rates and affordability issues as new cars have risen in price.
Honda dealer Doug Delacuesta, who runs Findlay Honda in Henderson, told Car Dealer that he thought Chinese brands would be accepted by US consumers who are looking for better value – if they’re ever allowed in.
‘I hope they don’t come here, though,’ he said.
‘But if they do I see they could be successful as their cars would undercut many of the vehicles already on sale in the US, even with the tariffs taken into account.’
NADA’s Stanton said he ‘doesn’t know what President Trump will do’ but said one senator told him Chinese car makers would be allowed in ‘over his dead body’.
‘It’s bad for our industry, it’s bad for our country and it’s bad for consumers,’ he told dealers at this week’s NADA convention in Las Vegas.
The NADA organisation is well versed in battling sales models that pose a threat to traditional dealers. It has ongoing battles with Tesla, Rivian, Lucid Motors and Scout Motors which are all direct-to-consumer sales models.
Scout Motors, a subsidiary of Volkswagen, has angered VW, Audi and Porsche dealers with a direct to consumer model. Franchisees are taking the manufacturer to court in a variety of states over the way it has cut out dealers from sales.
Stanton added: ‘NADA is in a very good financial position and we have, and we will, continue to throw the kitchen sink to make sure that we get this right because this is different. This is our traditional OEMs deciding to divert resources away from their dealer partners and into a new franchise that competes directly.’
In a battle that echoes those fought silently in the UK between dealers and manufacturers rolling out agency sales models, Stanton added car makers often ‘underestimate the value that dealers bring to the equation’.
Car Dealer’s coverage of the NADA conference is sponsored by Cox Automotive. Follow the website daily for updates and listen to our Podcast from the show on Friday.
Car Dealer Live, our conference for the UK automotive industry, takes place on March 19. If you’re looking for inspiring automotive sessions and great guests, grab your tickets now at CarDealerLive.co.uk.
