its my understanding that the US has banned Chinese EVs based on their “ability to send telemetry back to China” (fwiw, every manufacturer is doing something similar, but that’s out of scope for this question).
Waymo has a new class of car they’re using called the Ojai (Oh, hi) that is built by Zeeker, a Chinese company, that is built in China. This seems like it would run afoul of that ban.
I thought I heard somewhere that the car is built in China, but the infotainment system and ecu are then installed here in America, which bypasses that issue. If that’s the case. Why don’t other manufacturers import Chinese EVs and drop in their own infotainment systems for much cheaper?
Edit: it’d be nice to have answers grounded with proof, not just “because bribes! and the oligarchy!”
As far as I know DOT certifies vehicles for sale in the US. Individuals can import any vehicles they want. Each state has its own requirements for registration. Because remember, people can build their own cars and as long as they meet the requirements for that state, they can be driven on the roads.