The US Congress seems to be on the warpath to ban or curtail Chinese-made goods in their country. First it was Huawei, then TikTok, followed by a resolution against DJI (which has not passed yet). Now it seems that the US wants to ban CFMoto and possible Kove, too.
The US Commerce Department recently proposed rules that would ban vehicles with software and hardware links to China and Russia by model year 2027. Officials with the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced the new rules last week, which specifically target vehicles with “connected vehicles.” Hence, CFMoto is at the top of the list for motorcycles.
The BIS proposes to define a “connected vehicle” as meaning, “a vehicle driven or drawn by mechanical power and manufactured primarily for use on public streets, roads, and highways, that integrates onboard networked hardware with automotive software systems to communicate via dedicated short-range communication, cellular telecommunications connectivity, satellite communication, or other wireless spectrum connectivity with any other network or device.”
CFMoto’s telematics-box (T-Box) and the CFMoto Ride app would constitute onboard networked hardware with automotive software systems to communicate, meaning if the proposed rules pass, CFMoto models that run this type of hardware and software would be banned by 2027.
Most Kove motorcycles are fitted with GPS, connect to your phone via Bluetooth, and have a dedicated app, which would theoretically also count those models out of the US by 2027.
An advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) was issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce in February, which included a quote from the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo, stating, “It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to think of how foreign government with access to connected vehicles could pose a serious risk to both our national security and the personal privacy of U.S. citizens.”
Truth is, the language of the proposed act will carry little impact in the US motorcycle industry as CFMoto and Kove hold only a small piece of the pie. The real target, however, is Chinese carmakers such as BYD whose EVs are already slapped with a 100% import tax.
