Senator Bernie Moreno slammed Chinese cars as “roving surveillance devices” as China continues to massively expand its vehicle exports and aggressively push into markets across Canada and Latin America. While many view the vehicles as serious security threats, Americans have also had to grapple with the reality that, in many cases, they are significantly more affordable and feature more advanced technology than even some of the most high-end American cars.
Chinese-made vehicles have even begun appearing on roads in Southern California, making the issue increasingly difficult to ignore.
🚨 Senator Bernie Moreno just dropped the hammer on Chinese cars: “They are roving surveillance devices that Beijing can access and manipulate from halfway across the world.”
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) May 13, 2026
Before he was Senator, Moreno dominated the auto business. He knows exactly what he’s talking about.… pic.twitter.com/qdQgy0lAMx
Senator Moreno "joins us now for more on the president's trip, but Senator, before you were a senator, you've dominated in the car business, so that is one of your focuses. Could you explain to people at home what Chinese cars are, how they're made, and why they would be so detrimental if they're allowed to be sold in the American market?" Fox News' Brian Kilmeade asked.
"Yeah, absolutely. Look, the auto industry helped build the middle class in this country, as Bill Hammer talked about," he said. "The deindustrialization of America resulted in the growing middle class in China. So what the Chinese have decided to do is create this massive auto industrial complex, not for domestic consumption, but to be predators in the Western world."
So if they came into the U.S., they would wipe out our automakers, completely devastate our steel industry, our rubber industry, our electronics industry. It's about 10 percent of our entire economy is the auto industry. And worse, these are roving surveillance devices. These things could be accessed remotely. They could be manipulated from Beijing. Imagine allowing these kinds of things all over our roads.
"So Senator, how would you enforce it?"
"You block them from coming to America, obviously," Sen. Moreno replied.
While the solution may sound simple, Americans still have to grapple with the fact that many Chinese cars are priced well below the average U.S. new-car cost, with some selling for around $25,000. In China, even several best-selling EVs are priced under $12,000, compared to an average new-car price in the U.S. of roughly $50,000 or more. While these figures reflect domestic Chinese market rates, the vehicles often offer a higher level of technological features relative to their price than comparable cars on the American market.
🇨🇳 Chinese car tech is getting harder to dismiss.
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) May 14, 2026
The West spent decades laughing at Chinese cars. That era is over.pic.twitter.com/hOFW8FfmOq
While the price gap does not necessarily imply that the U.S. should welcome an influx of Chinese technology, it does underscore a growing challenge for American automakers and policymakers. Officials will need to consider how to make U.S. vehicles more competitive in terms of both price and features, while also addressing the broader issue of rising production costs in the domestic automotive industry.
