Something happened during a short panel at the New York Auto Show yesterday that exemplified everything that’s hard about being a carmaker in 2026. The stage for the conversation was set up at one end of the large open atrium near the show floor entrance, and it featured major execs talking about how hard it is to build and sell cars with all this uncertainty. Nearby, someone had organized free hot dogs for journalists, and the line was so long it sort of overwhelmed the panel.
There’s something about the sight of this enormous wave of people hoping to get a cheap product while a CEO talks about global uncertainty that felt just a little too on the nose even for The Morning Dump.
While there were no Chinese automakers on hand directly, there were plenty of automakers who work with them, and it seems like that work is going to bring those automakers a lot closer to our shores. Specifically, GM might help build cars from Wuling in Mexico and Stellantis could manufacture Leapmotors in Canada. This is sort of the dream of Chinese automakers, and it comes at a time when China is able to build a lot faster than we are.
This makes sense both as a reflection of America’s trade policy and as an outcome from whatever the White House is trying to do in the Middle East which, according to one automaker, is dampening sales in the United States.
The US Pulling Out Of Canada Is Going To Be Great For China
A lot of the discussion around President Trump’s trade war is that, by chucking all of its existing trade relationships out the window, it’s encouraging countries to look at China as a more stable trading partner. This was initially thought of as something that’ll happen in places like Europe and South America.
Surely, given our longstanding relationship and importance, the United States didn’t have to worry about Chinese automakers getting too strong of a foothold in either Canada or Mexico. Given how freaked out American carmakers are about China, that would seemingly be bad. That thinking ignores how much America has pissed off Canada and how, by encouraging automakers to stop building cars in either country, the White House has created a difficult situation for those same automakers. Stellantis, in particular, has taken a beating from Canadian lawmakers over shifting production from Canada to the United States.
The solution? Canada has opened its market to Chinese-built cars, in defiance of policymakers in the United States, and now Stellantis reportedly senses an opportunity. According to this Bloomberg report, Stellantis is looking to utilize its Chinese Leapmotor brand to build cars in the same Brampton facility that lost manufacturing to an American one:
The company has since been in discussions with Canadian Industry Minister Melanie Joly over future plans for the plant.
Those talks now include the possibility of building cars in partnership with Leapmotor, a fast-growing Chinese manufacturer. Stellantis bought a 20% stake in Leapmotor in 2023, and a year later the two companies formed a joint venture called Leapmotor International, focused on global production and sale of the electric vehicles.
In a statement, Joly confirmed the government and the company are engaged in discussions. “Any new auto investments will prioritize Canada’s supply chain, including Canadian labor and parts suppliers,” the minister’s office said, without mentioning Leapmotor or any Chinese companies.
That would be quite the turnaround if it happened. One of the knocks against Chinese cars in Canada is that it would kill local jobs. If those local jobs are building Chinese cars, well, maybe Canadian consumers won’t care so much.
Mexico, Too, Might Get Some New Chinese Car Factories After All
It seems hard to remember that far back but, prior to Liberation Day, Mexico had been talked out of hosting more Chinese car manufacturing by the Biden Administration. Even though plenty of Chinese cars are imported to Mexico, production has been mostly limited.
Mexico, though, is now facing down the prospect of losing the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which could make its booming carmaking business a little shakier. GM, in particular, builds a lot of cars in Mexico. Can you guess what might happen next?
GM’s partnership with SAIC and Wuling has long exported China-made cars for sale in Mexico under the Chevrolet brand, such as the Capita and Groove crossovers, Tornado minibus and Aveo hatchback. But the venture is looking for a local production base after Mexico hiked tariffs on Chinese imports in January.
The gambit positions GM’s profitable Chinese partnership at the vanguard of a new manufacturing strategy as automakers navigate shifting trade policies following Trump’s tariff regime. GM joins rivals including Ford in leveraging China-built vehicles for international markets, though its production at a Mexico facility represents a novel hybrid approach.
Chinese cars on the southern border. Chinese cars on the northern border. Chinese cars everywhere.
Renault CEO: Chinese Suppliers Are Just Faster
The new Renault Twingo is one of the most interesting new cars on the market to me, and its relatively quick road to production has a somewhat predictable origin story. Renault’s new CEO François Provost spoke to Manager Magazin about how the car came together:
Provost: We need to be innovative and fast enough to leave our Chinese competitors behind. To achieve this, we must be better than them, or at least on par, in everything that matters in the automotive business today: electromobility, intelligent and connected cars, and artificial intelligence.
MM: Chinese manufacturers are considered superior in most of these fields.
They are strong, but so are we. Let me give you an example: We developed the new Twingo in 21 months. Large parts of it were developed in China with Chinese colleagues, using fewer suppliers, shorter decision-making processes, and faster software development. Our next goal is to compete against Chinese manufacturers in Europe with European suppliers. Not just on price, but also on speed.
While there’s certainly a lot to say about how China has some unfair advantages when it comes to production, there’s also a culture and society that’s not quite as hamstrung by permitting and regulation. A friend of mine is opening up coffee shops in China and the United States simultaneously, and he can get a shop in China rented, built, staffed, and opened in about six weeks. His first shop in the United States took six months.
Volvo Says The Conflict With No Obvious End Is Dragging Down Sales In The United States
I’ll probably have a wrap up of sales conditions tomorrow, but the general message is that the market sputtered in March. Why? While many were expecting a bump from tax returns, the uncertainty around fuel prices and the latest Middle East war weighed down sales. At least, that’s what Volvo is saying:
Sales in the Americas region decreased by 28 per cent, totaling 29,651 cars as a result of weak customer sentiment, made worse by the ongoing geopolitical conflict in the Middle East. Deliveries of electrified models decreased by 30 per cent compared to the same period last year, due to the negative impact from the removal of subsidies on fully electric and plug-in hybrid cars.
This is the first time I think I’ve seen a carmaker specifically call out the Middle East conflict as a sales impediment, though it won’t be the last. At the end of this month it’ll be time for automakers to release quarterly earning reports, and I’m guessing we’ll hear a lot about it then.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
It’s the Wu-Tang Clan doing “C.R.E.A.M.” live at the Sydney Opera House.
The Big Question
Which Chinese car would you most like to be able to buy in the United States?
Top photo:
Mangotollah says we’re winning bigly. We’re winning right??
PS. Xiaomi SU7.
If you voted for the dummy you owe me gas money.
The world is a competitive place. Prior to the last year I always thought that the United States looked to the future with technology. Now I see a focus on the past. Sure, coal and oil will be used for many years but clearly the future is electric, solar, wind and renewable power. The rest of the world is racing forward while we look back. If we pause or go backward, the rest of the world is going to continue to move ahead and we will become a technological backwater. We will be a land full of people that think they are exceptional but only are when compared with ourselves, not the best in the world. The past is gone, we need to lead into the future if we want to make the US and the world a better place.
Not splitting hairs here Matt.
But America did not piss off Canada. Most Americans with functional brains love Canada. I know I do.
Maybe a sentence correction is in order here?
Insults and lies are what pissed off Canada, Tariffs too.
That was done quite well by the big Orange Turd and his peons…
America voted for him. Actively, or tacitly by failing to show up against him. We are culpable as a country until we fix it.
Until we overhaul the bullshit voting process to a popular vote it will not change much.
The process chosen in the late 1700’s is not a fair representation of the the will of the people…YMMV
The elected representative of the US pissed off Canada.
To say we took it personally would be an understatement.
That being said, I still have a lot of love for individual Americans, I know scores of amazing people who did not sign up for this.
But you’re gonna have to hang out with me up here, cause I’m not going down there any time soon.
Wish I could hang out up there my friend.
Cold snacks are always ready. Well, these days it’s mostly Bubly, but they’re still cold!
gotta love how shame has become a national consciousness for multiple generations of Americans
Hey Matt,
You forgot to mention Tesla sales jumped 1st quarter. After skipping the other two pro-tesla days you just can’t even bring yourself to mention this. Your bias is simply off the charts.
You mean the 1st quarter sales that were up from last year’s dismal numbers, but still missed expectations by 6%, and we’re 42k sales off their pace from 3 years ago? The 1st quarter sales that drove the stock down 3%?
I’m sure they could spend some time on that.
Ah, you beat me by 50 seconds!
I’m not going to get into pricing of stock, Tesla’s never made sense.
Sales are down from the highs yes ,but they are still up. In a VERY tough ev market. You can’t pretend the landscape hasn’t changed in 3 years, thats disingenuous at best. There’s constant mention of anything that could be slightly seen as negative with Tesla, and theres a pattern that emerges when anything decent happens with them.
I won’t argue with the anti-musk crowd all day, it will never end. I am just pointing out what I have noticed.
edit: They are scrapping cars and building bots it seems like in the future, so the sales will continue to drop regardless I would assume.
They still missed targets and the numbers are still abysmal. Maybe Matt is showing his pro-Tesla bias by failing to report on this.
Eventually the Chinese cars will begin to trickle in… Once that happens, the dam will burst. I know that we aren’t directly importing them, but if these Chinese firms end up opening plants in Mexico and Canada, the USA can’t be too far behind. Once the first manufacturer opens a plant stateside, it’s game over for the domestics.
Chinese Built Buick’s are here. I am not enamored with those enough to overlook the human rights issues that seem to be pretty solidly ignored in China.
Maruti Jimny copy is interesting to consider, but I would just as much prefer an actual Jimny if we could reduce some of the NHTSA driving nanny requirements and get it over here for a lot less expense.
Because the US is a bastion of amazing human rights? Or we’re just cool with overlooking those issues in order to look at US vehicles?
There have been enough conversations about production in Canada, that opening the market to Chinese cars is really just the first step. If Chinese automakers bring affordable cars, Canadians WILL buy. Well… maybe not the Texas of the north folks in Alberta. Hyundai did well coming in at a time when most Canadians were still hurting from a period of very high interest rates and rising costs due to fuel shortages. The Pony didn’t sell in the US, but they sold a lot up here. The Korean brands are very popular up here now. I assume the same will be true for Chinese brands that come over. I’ll definitely look.
And it’s all so frustratingly stupid. The existing domestic automakers could have maintained the course they started. It would have been expensive, but long term, there’s massive benefit to selling electric vehicles. They all submitted to the lure of short term revenue at the expense of potential global market size. I really wanted at least one automaker to say “no thanks, that’s not aligned with our long term plans.” And none did. They all deserve to be third rate automakers of the future.
Oh yeah, the Korean brands are CRAZY popular up here. You can’t throw a hockey puck without denting five Kias and a Hyundai. Hell, there’s two in my driveway and the neighbour’s daughter has an Ioniq5.
We gave China the opportunity by killing off the cheap cars, a price point China is famous for.
“Which Chinese car would you most like to be able to buy in the United States?”
Exact replicas of European 1950-80s exotics for the price of a Changli.
This ain’t about the Middle East… quite simply… Volvo doesn’t make vehicles people want and/or they are not priced appropriately. It’s just that.
EX: Had to get a new ride a few months back. It needed to tote ebikes, kayaks, big canoes, go down gravel roads, handle moderate snow, some mud, etc. Got down to two choices ’25 Subaru Outback Wilderness -v- ’25 Volvo V60 Cross Country. The decision wasn’t even close. I got the OBW for $40,500 – complete – out the door (with a dealer installed OEM trailer hitch). Good luck getting Volvo to hit that. The V60 was going to be at least $7,000-8,000 more than the OBW.
Even if priced the same, the OBW seemed like a much better off-roader/4WD vehicle and a more reliable ride overall. For the extra money… the Volvo was absolutely not worth it. I loved how easy it’d be to load boats on the roof with a nice Thule rack… but that was really the only advantage of the V60.
Honestly, I’m not sure what customer the V60 is supposed to serve any more.
Yes, the premium brand Volvo sells vehicles at a higher price point than the mass market brand Subaru.
All right, that’s twice in 2 minutes crossing over each other.
*backs away slowly*
A Honda will give a superior value proposition to a BMW, too, but that’s not the entire story.
I needed to haul kayaks, so I was looking between a Ford Explorer and a Bugatti Chiron. The Ford was way more capable at this job for WAYYY less money! Therefore, between these two vehicles, clearly, the Explorer is the superior product.
So, a year ago, people wanted the same vehicles 28% more? But, sure, it ain’t about the Middle East.
Just double-barrel shotguns to the dick, every day, for fun.
If money wasn’t an object, a BYD Yangwang U7 would do nicely. Set aside some cash for tires. Translating its specs onto pavement would definitely destroy a few sets rapidly.
The Dongfang M-Hero 917 with the gun motifs would sell here too. That’s pure ‘Murica as interpreted by a Chinese manufacturer. Make a decontented $76k version and print money.
It’s really hard to understate how much the current American administration has ‘pissed off’ former allies.
One small step for automakers, one giant Leapmotor for the world.
It’s soooo much more than that, though. It’s opening the eyes of the rest of the world to the fact that we just can’t be trusted anymore. Not as allies, not as trading partners, not as a stabilizing force in the world. If 40ish percent of our population gets the wrong person elected (again), then a hundred years of good will can evaporate overnight.
This won’t be fixed by a “blue wave” in 2026. It won’t be fixed if sanity prevails in 2028 either. The isolationists who wanted to uncouple us from the global economy have won, and managed to do it in less time than anyone thought possible. If the current administration had actually been elected by China to upend the US’s global domination of world trade they couldn’t have done a better job.
Perfect response, no notes.
Mercedes? You reading the comments today? The one above is pure COTD fuel.
USA: 1. Aim at your own pud. 2. Fire.
So tired of all the winning…
If the US legacy automakers were pro-active and pursued mass producing and marketing EV technology that they helped develop in the 1990s, and had they focused on sedans and small cars that were both affordable and aerodynamically efficient to get good range on small battery packs instead of forcing the SUV/CUV/truck zeitgeist onto the consumers, then this opening for the Chinese wouldn’t even exist.
This is why there should be no taxpayer-funded bailouts for them when the time comes. I don’t consent to paying for it. Do you?
I live in an area that would’ve been completely and totally economically devastated if the Big 3 had gone under, so yes, I do support it as a method of last resort. Ideally it won’t come to that and they’ll make good decisions and wise partnerships, but I’d rather bail them out than see tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of people lose their jobs.
It would have been cheaper to pay everyone who would have lost their jobs almost enough to retire on… or at least enough to have a significant passive income source.
I sincerely doubt that.
This x1000
The “executives” who brought the auto industry down shouldn’t get SHIT
(except maybe prison time)
Any assistance/funding should go to the engineers and the people doing the manufacturing, etc., and the suppliers.
The people affected thus previously and perhaps in the future need to really look at their situation and strongly consider the future and their place in it. It might be high time to figure out a contingency plan, consider some sort of training or other income streams, and start to build towards that and possibly in a different location. Just continuing as is and hoping for another bailout on the back of everyone else (many of which had similar issues but WITHOUT any form of bailout in the past) is no longer acceptable.
How many times should we bail the same people and industry out? Sure as shit nobody is bailing out my close to $30k healthcare premiums this year if I make enough money to actually support my family’s decidely non-extravagant lifestyle and cost of living. And yes, I (and my family) left a struggling industry at a difficult time a decade and a half ago and rebuilt our lives once and am currently in the (so far fairly successful) process of doing it again so yes it can be done.
Plan ahead and don’t just wait for Uncle Daddy’s bailout.
No, particularly not since they’ve spent the 17 years since the last bailout continually downsizing, shedding jobs and closing factories over and over again, despite the bankruptcy “right sizing” them. A failure of the Big Three would not be catastrophic to our economy now, if it even really was in 2009. They’re not even the entire US auto industry, not by a long shot. Toyota builds more here than Stellantis
Mazda 6e (EZ-6 sedan)
It’s a lovely sedan with all electric drive and a 4-banger ICE/generator happy meal. For those who have to have an SUV, the Mazda EZ-60.
Practical vehicles that would be a grand-slam home-run if they were available in the US.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazda_6e
^^^ This ^^^
But… ‘Merica just be lovin’ it’s big ass trucks. Let’s give it a few years of $4+ gas and $5+ diesel and see what’s on sale then. I’m betting many Mazda CX-6e/EZ-60 types will be here.