TikTok is flooding Americans with Chinese-made EVs and stirring up demand

TikTok has been flooding Americans with Chinese-made electric vehicles, stirring up demand for cars not for sale in the U.S.Chinese car brands such as BYD, Xiaomi and Zeekr are enticing U.S. consumers with EVs that seem both luxurious and affordable. But Americans won’t be able to get their hands on the Chinese EVs, at least not any time soon, because of steep tariffs and regulations. Alexandra Kozak raved on TikTok about the 2023 BYD Seagull hatchback, listed for just $13,000. She mentioned the car’s 10-inch rotating touchscreen with Amazon Music, wireless charger and four-airbag system. TikTok has been flooding Americans with Chinese-made electric vehicles, stirring up demand for cars not for sale in the US (Pedro Pardo/AFP via Getty Images)It’s a “great price-point that people deserve to have here,” Kozak said in a video posted in January 2025. “Not cars starting at $30,000.”Car influencer Forrest Jones, with 8.2 million followers on TikTok, has shown off several Chinese cars, including the Zeekr 9X, which he called the “most powerful SUV on the planet.”The Zeekr 9X comes with massaging seats, a passenger and main touchscreen and a panoramic roof. Jones also showed how the back seats can recline for extra comfort. “Now I can fully recline with a heated leg-rest, I also get a footrest, a cooler that can keep all of my drinks cold, and I get a removable tablet,” the influencer said in a video posted last January. Americans won’t be able to get their hands on the Chinese EVs, at least not any time soon, because of steep tariffs and regulations (CN-STR/AFP via Getty Images/China OUT)While the Zeekr 9X is luxurious, it costs a whopping $83,000, according to Jones. In 2024, then-President Joe Biden’s administration put a 100 percent tariff on Chinese EVs. The Biden administration later effectively ended the possibility of Chinese cars on U.S. roads by banning vehicle software and hardware from its adversaries. Biden also signed a law before leaving office that pressured Chinese-owned ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations over national security concerns. Chinese carmakers have not signaled that they plan to enter the U.S. car market in the near future. Chinese carmakers have not signaled that they plan to enter the U.S. car market in the near future (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)Geely, the parent company of Zeekr, told Bloomberg that “while we love the positive reception from U.S. reviewers,” their collaborations with American influencers “are not a signal of an imminent U.S. launch.”China’s largest car manufacturer, BYD Co., and Xiaomi have said they have no plans to launch in the U.S., per Bloomberg. But if Chinese carmakers change their minds, nearly 40 percent of Americans would consider buying a vehicle from them, according to a study released last February.Thirty-eight percent of Americans said they would be extremely or very likely to consider a Chinese car if they were available in the U.S., a study from Kelley Blue Book parent company Cox Automotive found.