Americans Can’t Buy Chinese EVs. Waymo Is Importing Thousands

Chinese automakers are now the de facto global standard for electric vehicles. BYD is outselling Tesla with highly affordable models. Consumer electronics giant Xiaomi is rolling out stylish sedans and SUVs outfitted with dizzying in-cabin infotainment tech. But staggeringly high tariffs, hovering at 127.5% for Chinese-built EVs, have kept those cars largely out of American driveways. But they have not kept them out of Waymo’s fast-growing U.S. robotaxi fleet. In late May, Alphabet’s self-driving vehicle company began deploying small electric vans, built by China’s Zeekr brand–which it calls the Waymo Ojai–in cities including Los Angeles and San Francisco. At the time, Waymo would only say it had “more than 100” of the friendly-faced, periwinkle-colored minivans on the road. Most industry watchers assumed the Mountain View, California-based company would ultimately operate fewer than 1,000 owing to the excessive import fees. That’s not the case. By Alan Ohnsman, Senior Editor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices