The U.S. has used tariffs and security rules to keep Chinese cars off dealer lots. Alphabet’s robotaxi company appears to be buying them by the boatload.
Google isn’t getting special treatment here because it’s Google: Waymo isn’t importing finished consumer cars, it’s importing a vehicle platform, removing the original electronics, and integrating its own autonomous system. That’s much closer to sourcing components than selling Chinese EVs directly to the public, so it’s not really an apples to apples comparison.
Google isn’t getting special treatment here because it’s Google: Waymo isn’t importing finished consumer cars, it’s importing a vehicle platform, removing the original electronics, and integrating its own autonomous system. That’s much closer to sourcing components than selling Chinese EVs directly to the public, so it’s not really an apples to apples comparison.