A Bill To Crack Down on Chinese Cars Could Shut Mercedes-Benz Out of American Markets A new bipartisan bill would ban manufacturers from selling cars in the U.S. if more than 15 percent of shares are Chinese-owned. A bill advancing in the Senate to crack down on Chinese cars could end up barring some European favorites from the U.S. market. Last week, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee unanimously advanced the Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026. If passed, the bipartisan legislation would prohibit vehicles and vehicle software and hardware "linked to China or other foreign adversaries" from being imported, sold, or manufactured in the United States, according to a bill summary. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D–Mich.), the bill's cosponsor, described Chinese cars as "surveillance packages on wheels, with the ability to collect on American citizens and transmit that data back to Beijing." Thanks to tariffs and regulations, Chinese cars are already effectively banned in the U.S. market. However, this bill would take restrictions a step further by banning vehicles built by manufacturers that are more than 15 percent owned by China and other adversaries, including German luxury car company Mercedes-Benz, which has two Chinese shareholders—one state-owned—who both hold stakes under 10 percent. If Mercedes is barred from being sold or manufactured stateside, American consumers and the 5,800 workers the company employs at its Alabama plant would be at a loss. Mercedes-Benz would have legal avenues to appeal as the bill creates a formal authorization and waiver process. This would be similar to the one that Swedish luxury car brand Volvo—whose majority stakeholder is the Chinese company Geely—received in May. While tackling foreign espionage may sound like a good idea, for all the fearmongering about Chinese vehicles—including from Sen. Bernie Moreno (R–Ohio), another cosponsor, who called Chinese cars "automotive fentanyl"—there