WionDrive News Desk 
As the US government makes efforts to restrict dependency on foreign automakers, Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio called for openness. During an event speaking at Harvard University, the company’s founder William Li, addressed how US politicians have been seeking to further restrict China’s access to the world’s second-largest auto market.
Li said that rapid EV growth in China resulted from an “open and competitive” market where “all products are welcome regardless of their brands or origins”. Giving example of Tesla’s success in China, he said that US billionaire Elon Musk firm has already sold 1.36 million EVs in the country in the past three years. He said that Tesla’s presence boosted EV penetration in the country and further and energised the industry.
According to a transcript of his speech provided by the company to Reuters, he said, “Competition will lead to greater investment, longer time to break even, less margin for mistakes and lower chances of success. (However) we do not expect China to adopt policies to protect domestic players because we also see the other side of the coin, where openness will ultimately benefit industries and sustainability, and make the best companies even better.”
Tensions have been rising between China and the West over increasing Chinese exports. The US and Brussels believe that the Chinese products are heavily subsidised by the state and thus cheaper, in turn harming the domestic automakers and increasing competition. Meanwhile, the European Union is investigating some Chinese EV makers such as BYD, Geely and SAIC, which could lead to levying tariffs over the subsidies.
However, China’s biggest EV maker, BYD, said it had no plans to sell its cars into the country. Nio too is currently studying the feasibility of selling vehicles into the US on a quarterly basis.
Few Chinese-made EVs that are sold in the US market already face steep tariffs. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, is further considering increasing tariffs on Chinese EVs whereas Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown have highlighted concerns over cheap Chinese EVs, including on national security grounds.
