UK assessing risks from Chinese electric vehicles

The Ministry of Defence is working with other government departments to understand and mitigate potential national security threats posed by Chinese-manufactured electric vehicles, including concerns about remote kill switch capabilities, Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard confirmed in a parliamentary answer on 21 April.

Asked by Labour MP Graeme Downie what assessment the department had made of the risks, Pollard said the MoD “takes the security of defence assets very seriously” and that “policies and procedures take account of the potential threats from all types of vehicles, not just electric vehicles or those manufactured in China”, adding that work was underway across the department to “ensure risks are appropriately managed in accordance with the needs of different communities.”

A separate question asking when the Defence Secretary had last met his US and Australian counterparts to discuss the threat from Chinese-made connected vehicles drew a similarly cautious response, with Pollard confirming the Defence Secretary “speaks with his US and Australian counterparts regularly on a range of national security topics to ensure coherence and alignment between our nations” but declining to provide specific details of when the issue had been directly discussed.

Allied governments have been moving to address the risks from Chinese connected vehicle technology at pace, with the US having introduced regulations requiring automakers to certify that core connected systems contain no Chinese-developed software from March 2026, as part of a broader framework that will extend to hardware-level restrictions from 2030, with the rules covering vehicle connectivity systems including telematics, cameras, GPS and automated driving systems.

Australia has also faced calls from security analysts to take similar steps, though its government has so far stopped short of a ban, with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute among those arguing the country needs a more comprehensive approach to the risks posed by Chinese technology in connected vehicles.