Trump push for Chinese EV factories puts Hyundai Motor Group on alert

U.S. President Trump's public call for Chinese automakers to build factories in America and hire American workers has put Hyundai Motor Group and other global carmakers on high alert as a Trump-Xi summit approaches, The Korea Times reported.

The prospect of Chinese electric vehicles entering the U.S. market carries high stakes for Hyundai and Kia, which together sold 48,425 eco-friendly vehicles in the United States in April — a 47.6 percent year-over-year surge — with hybrids and EVs now making up roughly 30 percent of their combined U.S. volume, according to The Korea Times.

Trump said in January 2026 that it would be "great" if Chinese automakers built U.S. factories and hired American workers. Those remarks, voiced ahead of a planned summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, have triggered widespread concern among global automakers about a potential reshaping of the U.S. electric vehicle landscape, The Korea Times reported.

BYD, China's dominant EV maker, already ranked third in global electric vehicle sales outside China in the first quarter of 2026, ahead of Hyundai Motor Group, which ranked fourth, according to SNE Research data cited by The Korea Times.

"The Korean automaker may end up losing a huge portion of its eco-friendly vehicle market share in the U.S., once Chinese price-competitive EVs are available for sale there," said Lee Ho-geun, a professor of automotive engineering at Daeduk University.

Lee cautioned, however, that Chinese manufacturers would not automatically carry their cost advantages into U.S.-built vehicles. "When they assemble products in their home territory, they can gain a price edge by utilizing a stable supply chain there, but this is not the case if they set up production lines in the U.S. and rebuild their entire supply chain for EV sales in the U.S.," he said.

The World Economic Forum has identified the potential entry of Chinese EV makers into the U.S. as a discussion topic for the Trump-Xi summit, according to The Korea Times. Chinese automakers currently face near-term regulatory barriers to the American market.

An unnamed industry official told The Korea Times the auto industry should not wait for the threat to materialize. "Even if the scenario does not look feasible in the short term, global carmakers will have to brace for the worst by diversifying their sales channels and reducing reliance on a certain market," the official said.