2026年4月12日 / 美国东部时间上午9:28 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
“驾乘体验、驾驶感受、悬挂系统、舒适度以及科技水平，都远胜过我之前拥有过的任何车型，”贾斯汀·沃森说道。这番说辞在汽车经销店中司空见惯，但不同的是，沃森是一名普通消费者。
他正准备将自己的雷克萨斯置换为一辆比亚迪——比亚迪的全称是“Build Your Dreams”。这家中国汽车企业在美国并不常见，但去年已超越特斯拉，成为全球纯电动汽车销量冠军。尽管2026年初特斯拉暂居领先，但如果计入混合动力汽车，比亚迪仍稳居榜首。
沃森表示，购买中国汽车的“禁忌”已经不复存在：“我认为，那种‘从中国买便宜货，用不了多久就坏了’的时代早已过去。他们现在非常注重品质。”
伦敦艾伦·戴汽车集团董事总经理保罗·坦纳表示，销量非常出色。该集团已有50多年经营历史，此前主要销售大众汽车。他称自己从未想过会销售中国汽车：“但当你看到产品的增长势头和品质时，会惊叹不已。”
比亚迪针对社交媒体调整了部分营销策略，主打高端车型的多项特性：可涉水、原地360度掉头、续航更长，并宣称很快将实现5分钟快充。
“中国在这方面遥遥领先于世界其他国家，”英国智库“新汽车”执行董事本·内尔姆斯说道。他表示，中国在创新领域的长期投资正在收获回报。据估算，比亚迪的造车成本比西方竞争对手低25%。“比亚迪之所以如此成功，是因为它最初是一家电池企业，因此掌握了汽车制造前的整条供应链。”内尔姆斯说，“它能够以极低的成本生产电池，并将电池出口到全球各地。”
但在美国道路上，你很难看到比亚迪汽车的身影。2024年，拜登政府对中国电动汽车征收100%的关税。“我坚定地认为，电动汽车的未来应由美国的工会工人制造。就是这样，”他说道。
关税使汽车成本翻倍。“这使得在中国美市场销售变得不可能，”内尔姆斯说，“这实际上彻底关闭了这类车辆的进口市场。”
特朗普总统保留了这些关税政策，同时放宽了汽车排放标准，并取消了电动汽车购买税收优惠。
美国和欧洲的关税水平要低得多。在挪威，97%的新车销量为电动汽车。中国是全球最大的汽车市场，约一半的新车销量为电动汽车，而美国这一比例不到10%。
对中国电动汽车征收关税对美国汽车制造商有多重要？“我认为他们认为这非常重要，”内尔姆斯说，“但这是否对他们最有利，仍存在争议。如果你压制创新、扼杀竞争，破坏自由开放的市场，那么市场将无法实现其应有的作用——即为消费者提供物美价廉的优质产品。”
关税至少能暂时保住美国的就业岗位吗？内尔姆斯表示：“嗯，可能在短期内可以，但从长远来看，这一点非常不确定。如果未来汽车制造的趋势是电动汽车，那么你可能会阻碍美国汽车制造商走上这条转型之路，那么在未来某个时刻，他们终将面临这种竞争压力。”
随着伊朗战争导致汽油价格飙升，这种竞争压力可能正在积聚。但贾斯汀·沃森预计他的中国汽车能为他省下一大笔钱。“我有家人在美国，”他说，“他们其实都很羡慕我！”
更多信息：
- 比亚迪
- 艾伦·戴汽车集团
- 新汽车（英国智库）
本文由米凯拉·布法诺制作。编辑：布莱恩·罗宾斯。
Chinese electric vehicles pull into the lead
April 12, 2026 / 9:28 AM EDT / CBS News
“The ride, the drive, the suspension, the comfort, the level of technology is far superior than anything I’ve had before,” said Justin Watson. This sort of pitch is typical at a car dealership, except Watson is a customer.
He’s trading in his Lexus for a BYD, which stands for “Build Your Dreams.” It’s a Chinese car company you won’t really find in the U.S., but which overtook Tesla last year as the world’s top seller of fully-electric vehicles. While Tesla is ahead in early 2026, BYD still leads when including hybrids.
Watson said the “taboo” of buying a Chinese car is gone: “I think long are the days where you bought cheap from China and it didn’t last long. They’re putting a lot of emphasis in quality.”
The BYD Sealion 7 premium electric SUV. BYD
Paul Tanner, the managing director of Alan Day Motor Group in London, says sales are excellent. The company has been in business for more than 50 years, primarily selling Volkswagens. He said he never thought he’d be selling Chinese cars: “But when you see the growth and the quality of the product, it’s phenomenal,” he said.
BYD tailors some of its marketing to social media, pitching (at the high end) vehicles that can go in water, turn 360-degrees in place, have longer battery life, and claim, soon, a five-minute charge.
“China is miles ahead of the rest of the world,” said Ben Nelmes, executive director of New Automotive, a U.K. think tank. He says China’s long-term investments in innovation are paying off. By some estimates, BYD can make cars for 25 percent less than competitors in the West. “BYD has been so successful because it started life as a battery company, so it owns the whole supply chain before the car,” Nelmes said. “It’s able to produce batteries very cheaply, and it’s been exporting them all over the world.”
But you won’t find many BYD cars on the road in the United States. In 2024, President Biden slapped China with 100 percent tariffs on its electric vehicles, or EVs. “I’m determined that the future of electric vehicles be made in America by union workers. Period,” he said.
The tariff doubles the cost of the car. “It makes it impossible” to sell in the States, said Nelmes. “It effectively closes the market to the import of those vehicles.”
President Trump kept those tariffs. He also relaxed auto emissions standards, and removed tax incentives to buy EVs.
Tariffs in the U.S. and Europe are much lower. In Norway, 97 percent of new cars sold are electric. China is the world’s largest market, where about half of new car sales are EVs, compared to less than 10 percent in the U.S.
EVs as a percentage of new car sales in the United States vs. China. CBS News
How important is the tariff on Chinese EVs to American automakers? “I think they see it as very important,” said Nelmes, “but whether or not it’s the best thing for them, I think, is arguable. If you stifle innovation and if you stifle competition and you stop there from being a free and open market, then actually markets stop delivering what they should do, which is good products at good cost to consumers.”
Is the tariff saving jobs in the U.S., at least for now? Nelmes said, “Well, it might be temporarily, but I suppose in the longer term, that’s a lot less certain. If the future of all car-making is electric car manufacturing, then you might simply be preventing American carmakers from making that journey, and then at some point in the future they will eventually be exposed to that competitive pressure.”
That pressure could be building, as gas prices soar due to the war in Iran. But Justin Watson is expecting big savings from his Chinese car. “I’ve got family in America,” he said. “They’re actually jealous!”
For more info:
- BYD
- Alan Day Motor Group
- New Automotive (U.K.)
Story produced by Mikaela Bufano. Editor: Brian Robbins.