In this articleFTSLAGMFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNTEmployees work on the assembly line of new energy vehicles (NEVs) at a workshop of China FAW Group’s Hongqi Fanrong Plant on July 5, 2023 in Changchun, Jilin Province of China. Zhang Yao | China News Service | Getty ImagesDETROIT — The unraveling of the U.S. electric vehicle push is increasingly raising concerns of an existential crisis for the American auto industry, as Chinese carmakers surge ahead in the technologies that many still believe will define the next era of cars.The latest warning sign came Friday, when Stellantis disclosed a $26 billion charge from a major business overhaul, including a pullback in EVs, triggering a more than 20% plunge in its stock. CEO Antonio Filosa blamed the hit on overestimating the pace of the energy transition.It follows other automakers in the U.S. significantly pulling back from pure EVs in favor of large gas-guzzling trucks such as the Ford F-150 and SUVs like the Chevrolet Suburban. Chinese automakers are taking the opposite approach and are growing globally, led by EVs.Legacy automakers General Motors and Ford Motor have lost billions of dollars on EVs and are pulling back partly because of the loss of a federal tax credit and lackluster consumer demand.Even Tesla, which pioneered the EV industry, is facing pressure. It was surpassed by Chinese automaker BYD in EV sales as the Elon Musk-led brand lost its appeal and market share in Europe this year, while BYD ramped up exports there and around the world. Tesla also last week canceled its two oldest, lowest-selling electric vehicles to repurpose an American plant for humanoid robots.After helming the electrification movement for years, Musk increasingly appears focused elsewhere, especially on robots, driverless taxis and his artificial intelligence company, which he combined with Space X in what was the biggest merger in history.Meanwhile, global market share for Chinese brands has jumped nearly 70% in five years, and many experts see a threat to U.S. automakers, including the anticipated entrance of Chinese brands into America. There’s fear among global automakers that Chinese rivals like BYD and Geely could flood global markets, undercutting domestic production and vehicle prices. The U.S. has taken a protectionist approach by implementing 100% tariffs on imported EVs from China, but Chinese automakers have made inroads across Europe, South America and elsewhere.[embedded content]Companies in the U.S., where the automotive industry represents about 5% of the country’s gross domestic product, are worried about long-term implications.”The Chinese auto industry presents an existential threat to the traditional [automakers],” said Terry Woychowski, a former GM executive who serves as president of automotive at engineering consulting firm Caresoft Global.Several automotive experts used the word “existential” when discussing the growth of Chinese automakers.”The existential risk to the U.S. auto industry isn’t Chinese EVs alone, it’s the combination of sustained government support, vertically integrated supply chains and speed,” said Elizabeth Krear, CEO of the Center for Automotive Research. “Those advantages lower costs and accelerate execution. Concurrently, saturation in China’s domestic market is driving automakers to expand aggressively into global markets.”China’s growth The Chinese automotive sector has rapidly changed from an insular industry to the largest exporter of vehicles globally since 2023.China’s growth has been fueled by government funding for companies as well as a culture of innovation and speed the country has instilled in its workers, experts said. A slowing Chinese market and plant underutilization have also forced companies to begin exporting to major auto markets globally.China’s expansion of EVs has been particularly impressive, with a nearly 800% increase globally, largely fueled by sales in China growing from roughly 572,300 in 2020 to 4.95 million in 2025, according to GlobalData. Outside of China, EV sales have surged by more than 1,300%, from less than 33,000 to more than 474,000, according to the firm.While China has grown, Detroit’s “Big Three” automakers — GM, Ford and Chrysler parent Stellantis, which is no longer based in the U.S. — have collectively fallen from a global market share of 21.4% in 2019 to an estimated 15.7% in 2025, according to S&P Global Mobility.That compares with China’s largest automakers BYD and Geely, which have grown from a less than 3% market share to an estimated 11.1%, according to S&P Global Mobility. HONG KONG, CHINA – JANUARY 05: A general view of the BYD Auto showroom on January 5, 2026, in Hong Kong, China. (Photo by Sawayasu Tsuji/Getty Images)Sawayasu Tsuji | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesChina’s most recent announced expansion is to Canada, a relatively small vehicle market that removed 100% tariffs on imported vehicles from China amid a trade dispute with the Trump administration.That follows the rapid growth of Chinese automakers in lower-income, less established regions that have historically been growth markets for U.S. automakers, such as South America, India, and Mexico. They’re also making inroads in Europe, where the share of sales has risen from virtually nothing in 2020 to nearly 10% in December, according to Germany-based Dataforce.”The shift to electric has made it easier for them, because they’ve got the right products,” said Al Bedwell, U.K.-based expert and director of global automotive powertrain for GlobalData. “The fact that it is electric has really opened the doors, and it wouldn’t have happened otherwise.”Bedwell said China wanted to wean itself off oil since it doesn’t have vast amounts on its own. “It saw an …
