>US State Department approves sale of 48 F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia
Cool! I guess three years from now SA will be able to protect their oil supply?
There's another US-specific factor that I think matters here: the American auto market isn't just protected from Chinese competition. It's also unusually dependent on large pickups and SUVs, especially for Detroit's most profitable products.
The reaction to Ram dropping the Hemi V8 from the 1500 was a fascinating example. There was enough customer demand for the V8 that Ram eventually brought it back.
Brazil has some of that culture too, particularly among wealthier pickup buyers and in agribusiness. Brazilian V8 enthusiasts celebrated its return as well. But the scale is completely different.
In the US, the F-150, Silverado 1500 and Ram 1500 are mainstream vehicles, and above them you have the F-Series Super Duty, Silverado 2500/3500 and Ram 2500/3500.
That creates an interesting situation for Detroit. Chinese manufacturers have become extremely aggressive in compact cars, crossovers, batteries, BEVs and PHEVs, while American manufacturers still make enormous amounts of money in vehicle segments where US consumer preferences are quite different from most of the world.
That can be a strength. BYD can't simply take a successful Chinese compact EV and expect it to replace an F-150.
But it could also become a weakness if those highly profitable American segments allow Detroit to postpone becoming price-competitive in smaller vehicles and electrified powertrains that it needs to sell internationally.
That's why I keep coming back to GM. GM can make excellent money selling large trucks in the US while simultaneously being forced to learn how to compete with BYD, Geely and GWM in markets like Brazil.
Maybe that strategy works. But if the US business becomes increasingly dependent on expensive trucks and SUVs while other markets move toward cheaper electrified vehicles, that's a very different long-term risk from simply asking whether Americans want Chinese cars.