US demand grows for Chinese cars despite privacy and security fears
More than half of American car buyers would consider a Chinese car brand for their next purchase, an increase of almost 25 percent compared to last year. That's according to a survey of prospective car buyers conducted annually by the research firm AutoPacific. And yes, those car buyers are conscious of the privacy and security fears.
AutoPacific spoke to 18,000 people who said they were planning to buy or lease a new car within the next three years for its 2025 Future Attribution Demand Study, and the companyhas been releasing snippets of data as it analyzes them, ahead of the full report's release later this year.
There has already been at least one surprise. Last year, partially automated driving systems like General Motors' Super Cruise or Ford's BlueCruise, or those developed by Tesla, were not in high demand. This year, that tech went to the top of the most-wanted list, with 43 percent of consumers saying they want hands-free partial automation. The same percentage also indicated a demand for rear automatic emergency braking. Wireless device charging, No. 1 in the list in 2024, didn't make the top 15 for 2025.