Hyundai Motor and Kia need to diversify their parts supply chains beyond China and expand their lobbying efforts to prepare for potential U.S. measures aimed at banning Chinese-connected vehicles, according to experts, Thursday.This reaction follows a series of warnings issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce, highlighting concerns that connected cars manufactured by Chinese companies could pose national security threats by potentially leaking sensitive data on American motorists to the Chinese government.On Wednesday (local time), U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced that the department will issue rules on Chinese connected vehicles this autumn and consider taking “extreme actions” against them due to security risks.
However, since the U.S. government has not yet clarified the specifics regarding the scope of connected vehicles, the recent announcement has sparked concerns that Korean automakers may also face broad and comprehensive regulatory risks from the U.S.Automobile industry analysts said local carmakers should come up with specific action plans by preemptively diversifying their supply chains.“Hyundai Motor and Kia have to brace for the worst by reducing their reliance on China and broadening their supply chains into other countries such as Vietnam,” Lee Ho-geun, an automotive engineering professor at Daedeok University, said.“There stands a possibility that the U.S. will regulate any connected vehicles that are equipped with Chinese parts. Under the scenario, the Korean automakers will be seriously affected, so 스포츠토토존 they are advised to make more efforts to reduce the proportion of Chinese parts in their automobiles.”