The Alliance for Automotive Innovation wants Congress to make restrictions on Chinese connected vehicles permanent, Reuters reported, as lawmakers prepare to return after midterm elections and the Senate weighs similar controls for four foreign adversaries.
A Sept. 3 letter from Alliance President and CEO John Bozzella had already asked House and Senate leaders to enact a ban before the 119th Congress ends. The request spans imports, sales and production of Chinese connected vehicles, plus related software and hardware. The alliance argued that subsidies distort competition and connected-vehicle data could pose surveillance risks.
The Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026, S. 4429, was introduced by Sens. Bernie Moreno and Elissa Slotkin on April 29. The Senate Commerce Committee ordered it reported July 22. The bill would cover connected vehicles primarily designed in, primarily developed in, manufactured in, or supplied from China, Iran, North Korea or Russia. It would also cover vehicles designed, developed, manufactured or supplied by a foreign entity of concern, along with specified software and vehicle-connectivity hardware.
Current Commerce Department rules restrict certain connected-vehicle transactions involving China or Russia, with software provisions tied to model year 2027 and hardware provisions to model year 2030. For software and hardware outside the existing Commerce rule, S. 4429 would defer restrictions to model years 2029 and 2032, respectively; it would also delay the connected-vehicle prohibition to model year 2030 for certain U.S. manufacturers and commercial fleet operators.
The Associated Press reported that a Senate effort stalled Sept. 30 amid talks over a proposed 15% Chinese-ownership cutoff. AP said Sen. Rand Paul opposed the threshold because it could affect Mercedes-Benz; the outlet reported that passive Chinese ownership of the automaker was nearly 20%.
The Senate report says affected manufacturers and suppliers could have to replace parts or forgo vehicle sales. The Congressional Budget Office said the private-sector compliance cost could not yet be determined because it depends on regulations that have not been issued.
The Senate is scheduled to resume business Nov. 9. Its posted schedule lists a vote on H.R. 2347 that day but no vote on S. 4429.
