For years now automakers, politicians and car enthusiasts alike have been ranting about how Chinese automakers are coming to ruin our country and the auto industry as a whole. While we have yet to see any Chinese companies enter the U.S. market and start selling cars here, a handful of existing brands have been quietly selling cars built in China to (probably some) unexpecting Americans. So far in 2024, more than 40,000 made-in-China cars were sold in the U.S., and that number should only keep growing.
The second-generation Lincoln Nautilus was primarily designed and developed with the Chinese market in mind, but since going on sale in the U.S. in early 2024 it has quickly become the brand’s best-selling vehicle. 17,504 Nautiluses were sold in the first half of the year, a 41.7-percent increase over the same time period in 2023 and beating the brand’s next best-seller, the Corsair, by around 5,000 units. Lincoln moved 8,273 Nautiluses in Q2, 20.8 percent more than Q2 last year.
Buick’s Envision SUV was the first China-built car to be sold in the U.S. when it hit dealers in 2015. Now in its second generation (and with a much more appealing design), the Envision continues to be built in China for American consumption. Buick sold 21,860 Envisions in the first half of the year, a decrease of almost 21 percent that’s likely due to the model’s recent facelift.
Thanks to parent company Geely, the U.S. has gotten made-in-China Volvos for more than half a decade now. Currently the only one left is the S90 sedan, which has never been much of a strong seller. Volvo doesn’t break out sales of the S90, instead combining with the V90 wagon that’s built in Sweden, and just 808 of the 90 series were sold in the first half of the year.
Also under the Geely umbrella, the China-built Polestar 2 has been on sale in the U.S. since 2020. Polestar’s sales are way down this year across the globe, with only 3,301 units of the Polestar 2 delivered through the first half of the year in America. Going on sale later this year will be the Polestar 4, which will also be built in China before production starts in South Korea next year.
