Volvo announced this week that it received regulatory approval to continue bringing its cars into the United States.
In early 2025, the then-outgoing Biden administration tightened rules around Chinese vehicles — and software within Chinese vehicles — making their way into the U.S. market. That’s been a problem for Volvo, which despite still technically being headquartered in Sweden, has been majority-owned by China’s Geely Holding since 2010. Volvo recently stated, however, that it received “specific authorization” from the Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services (ICTS), so it can continue bringing cars into the United States.
The latest rule took effect back in March, and concerns 2027 and later vehicles, so the decision is timely for Volvo’s ability to continue operating as normal in America. “Under the rule, Volvo Car USA was required to follow a process with the U.S. Department of Commerce to obtain a specific authorization for the continued import and sale of connected cars in the U.S.,” the company said Tuesday. “The process is carried out on a case-by-case basis, and the issuance of a specific authorization follows constructive discussions with the U.S. Department of Commerce and other officials regarding Volvo Cars’ governance, technology, and data security.”
While Volvo craftily omits the “China” angle from any part of its statement, that last bit of its opening announcement is crucial to understanding what is going on here. “Data security” is a primary reason officials including lawmakers argue Chinese cars should be banned from American roads. In fact, a bipartisan effort in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced earlier this month cites the 8 million vehicles China exports annually and the country’s state security and intelligence apparatus as justification to bar Chinese vehicles from either being imported, manufactured or sold in the United States.
If that law passes, then the Commerce Department would be compelled to refuse these sort of carve-outs on which Volvo depends to maintain its business. The automaker does have some manufacturing capacity in the U.S. in Charleston, South Carolina, which it stresses as part of this week’s statement on the ICTS authorization. Volvo noted that facility’s 2,000 jobs as well as its 70-year presence in the American market, as well as the U.S. being the brand’s largest market and its plans to introduce two new vehicles through Charleston before 2030.
