Chinese automakers have already gained a significant foothold in the European market, and now a similar scenario could unfold in the US. Hyundai Motor CEO José Muñoz believes Washington needs tariffs and other restrictions, otherwise Chinese cars could rapidly increase their market share, according to infohub.kz.

According to Muñoz, in Italy, Spain, and France, Chinese cars are 30–40% cheaper than competitors. Meanwhile, in the UK, where there are no similar tariffs, Chinese brands have already captured 15% of the new car market.

"In the past, the UK was a very profitable and strong market, but now it looks like China. All the sales leaders are Chinese because there are no barriers," Muñoz emphasized.

In his view, the US could face a similar situation without certain conditions for Chinese companies.

"The impact will be there regardless," warned the Hyundai chief.

Currently, the US market is effectively closed to electric vehicles from China: import tariffs are around 100%. However, US President Donald Trump has previously said he is ready to welcome Chinese manufacturers if they produce cars inside the country.

Muñoz is not the only head of a major automaker talking about the possible arrival of Chinese brands in the US. Ford CEO Jim Farley said back in July that the company is preparing for a scenario in which Chinese automakers enter the American market within the next 5–10 years.

At the same time, Muñoz acknowledges that the Chinese auto industry has made serious technological strides. He previously led Nissan's operations in China and remains impressed by the pace of development in the local industry.

"The level of innovation, the level of improvement, the technology – it's incredible," Muñoz noted.

Against this backdrop, Hyundai has decided to postpone the launch of its own driver assistance system until the end of 2029. Until then, the company plans to work with Nvidia: vehicles with Level 2+ and Level 2++ systems are expected to appear in 2028.

Muñoz explained the delay by the need to gather more data and verify the safety of the technology. At the same time, Hyundai is not abandoning its own autonomous driving and battery technologies.

Earlier, Kursiv Auto reported that Kazakhstan will start producing the fifth-generation Hyundai Tucson.