Volvo gets US government approval to bypass Chinese connected car ban

Summary

“Volvo Cars has been granted a specific authorization from the Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services under the ‘Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain: Connected Vehicles’ rule in the United States,” the company said in a statement. “Under the rule, Volvo Car USA was required to follow a process with the US Department of Commerce to obtain a specific authorization for the continued import and sale of connected cars in the US,” Volvo said. “The process is carried out on a case-by-case basis, and the issuance of a specific authorization follows constructive discussions with the US Department of Commerce and other US officials regarding Volvo Cars’ governance, technology, and data security.” Polestar, which is part-owned by Volvo and is also affected by the Commerce rule, told Ars that it “continue[s] to work with US authorities to meet the requirements of the announced regulations.” Now that Volvo has shown it’s possible for an OEM to successfully convince the Commerce Department that it complies with the new connected car rule, it raises the likelihood that other Chinese EVs, which are of growing interest to US car buyers, may still yet enter the US market in the coming years.