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José Muñoz, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company, explains the company's mid- to long-term business strategy at the "2026 CEO Investor Day" held last month. / Hyundai Motor

José Muñoz, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company, warned that Chinese vehicles could flood the U.S. market at a pace similar to Europe if the U.S. fails to maintain market safeguards such as tariffs.

According to Reuters on the 18th, Muñoz spoke on the 17th local time at Hyundai Motor Group's Tech Talent Forum 2026 held in San Jose, California, noting that the UK has no trade barriers, which has led to Chinese brands dominating the top sales charts. He added that the U.S. could expect similar developments if certain conditions are not put in place.

He remarked that the U.S. needs to impose conditions on Chinese companies to minimize the impact, while acknowledging that some degree of shock is inevitable regardless.

Muñoz evaluated the Chinese automotive industry by calling its level of innovation, speed of improvement, and engineering capabilities unbelievable. He pointed out that in select European markets such as Italy, Spain, and France, Chinese vehicles are 30% to 40% cheaper than rival models.

Chinese automakers are leveraging aggressive pricing to capture market share from legacy manufacturers like Hyundai Motor and Volkswagen across Europe. Although the EU has imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, the share of Chinese brands sold in the EU exceeded 9% in the first half of this year. In the UK, which maintains no separate tariff barriers, Chinese vehicles accounted for 15% of new car registrations earlier this year.

Vigilance over Chinese vehicles is mounting in the U.S. as well. The U.S. auto industry has persistently urged the government to bar Chinese automakers from entering the American market. However, U.S. President Donald Trump sparked debate during a Fox News interview on the 11th by expressing that he would be fine with Chinese companies entering the market if they build factories in the U.S. and hire American workers.

Under regulations enacted during the previous Joe Biden administration, the U.S. currently restricts Chinese companies from manufacturing and selling passenger cars domestically in practice, while maintaining tariffs exceeding 100% on Chinese-made electric vehicles.

                                                                                                           Kim Jeong-gyu