Chinese EVs Win Over Car Influencers and China

Back in 2015, Omar Rana rented a gasoline-powered SUV made in China while traveling abroad. He recalls it being a genuinely terrible vehicle. Nearly ten years later, the car influencer, known online as OmarDrives, received a direct message from a firm called DCar Studio, inviting him to test several Chinese electric vehicles in Los Angeles. With a substantial following across YouTube and Instagram, Rana is accustomed to such offers, but this one gave him pause. His initial thought was that the poorly written email must be spam.

His skepticism faded when he realized other Los Angeles-based automotive creators were getting similar invitations. What he discovered next was astonishing. The Chinese auto industry has undergone a dramatic transformation, exploding from a minor global participant into a field of over 150 fiercely competitive brands. These companies are now captivating customers with luxurious designs, impressive performance statistics, and a host of high-tech amenities.

Rana points to the Geely Galaxy E5 as a prime example. This compact SUV, priced around $20,000, comes equipped with features like heated, ventilated, and massaging seats, a digital instrument cluster, a heads-up display, reclining passenger seats, and a 360-degree camera system. Finding a vehicle in the North American market with a comparable feature set at that price is virtually impossible. While electric vehicles have faced challenges gaining widespread acceptance in the United States, in China, electrification has become the standard, with internal combustion engines increasingly viewed as novelties.

Rana was so impressed he produced a video on the Galaxy E5, initially titling it “Five Reasons Elon Would Be Pissed If This Car Came to the U.S.” His experience reflects a broader trend. China’s EV growth over the past decade has been extraordinary, propelling the country to become the world’s largest auto market and the top exporter of electric vehicles. More than half of all new cars sold in China are electric, signaling a decisive shift away from gasoline-powered transportation.

This revolution remains largely invisible to American consumers, who are surrounded by vehicles from Japanese, German, Korean, and American manufacturers. Steep tariffs and regulations prohibiting cars with Chinese software have effectively blocked these models from being sold in the US. The few that are available hide behind familiar brands, such as Volvo, which is owned by Geely. This inaccessibility makes Chinese cars mysterious, feature-packed, and tantalizing, ideal ingredients for compelling online content.

According to Rana, Chinese automakers display a remarkable talent for designing user-friendly features. He highlights gesture-controlled screens, a solution for children who frequently misplace remotes. The ability to pack advanced technology into vehicles at such low price points, all while remaining profitable, is a key part of their appeal.

Electric vehicles, with their bold specifications, surprisingly low prices, and camera-friendly gadgets, are perfectly suited for social media. As noted by popular YouTube reviewer Doug DeMuro, Chinese EVs represent the ultimate “quirks-and-features” machines.

This sentiment is echoed across the platform. Marques Brownlee featured the Li Auto Mega on his Auto Focus channel in a video titled “The Best EV You Can’t Buy.” It garnered 1.6 million views, becoming one of his top-performing automotive videos. Brownlee described the Mega as “sick,” praising it for having the most features and technology he had ever encountered in an electric vehicle.

Other creators share this enthusiasm. In a viral TikTok video about the Yangwang U8, Forrest Jones stated, “I know why Chinese cars aren’t sold in America. Because they would dominate.” The comment sections on these videos are filled with American viewers lamenting their inability to purchase these advanced EVs, with some younger consumers questioning why they can’t buy an affordable model like the $10,000 BYD Seagull.

This growing curiosity explains why Chinese automakers are so keen to place US content creators behind the wheel, according to Mark Greeven, a professor of innovation and dean of Asia at IMD Business School. While these cars cannot be sold in the US due to trade barriers, they are gaining significant market share in Europe, South America, and Africa. The United States is still perceived as the ultimate tastemaker in the Western world, making American influencers a valuable channel for shaping global opinion.

Greeven describes this as a “charm offensive,” designed to work with American influencers to build a positive perception of Chinese EVs. He points to the recent tour of China by internet celebrity IShowSpeed, who has tens of millions of followers, as a major soft power success. During his trip, the creator purchased a $250,000 BYD Yangwang U9 electric supercar, a vehicle capable of jumping several inches into the air, a feature he was eager to demonstrate.

There is a clear strategy at play, regardless of immediate sales prospects in the US. Greeven suggests this is part of a larger effort by Chinese companies to establish a global presence and secure a foothold in the Western-dominated social media landscape.

The influencer economy operates differently in China. Livestreaming is a massive industry, and the line between content creator and sales associate is often blurred. Many influencers are actually employees of companies like Xiaomi or BYD, selling products directly during their broadcasts. While US influencers typically emphasize their independence, their Chinese counterparts may not share the same concerns.

For major international influencers, the transactions are more nuanced. They often avoid direct cash-for-video deals to maintain audience trust, but there is still an expectation of positive coverage. Compensation for Chinese content creators can be substantially higher than for Americans, with reports of payments reaching $150,000 for a single short-form video.

To reach Western audiences, Chinese automakers are increasingly turning to US-based creators, often working through trade groups rather than individual brands or PR agencies. Omar Rana says he does not accept payment for his reviews, and they are not labeled as promotions, but he has heard rumors of other influencers receiving undisclosed payments to praise Chinese EVs.

Doug DeMuro, who has reviewed a handful of Chinese models, confirms this suspicion. While he maintains a strict policy of not accepting compensation from automakers, he acknowledges that “some creators may be getting paid under the table.” He notes that the inherent novelty of vehicles not available in the US is a powerful draw for audiences, making them inherently interesting to cover.

This lack of financial transparency worries some in the industry. Roman Mica, founder of TFL Studios, expresses concern that undisclosed paid partnerships are undermining independent automotive journalism. He states that many creators fail to disclose these arrangements, despite regulations requiring it, allowing automakers to manipulate their public image.

His son and business partner, Tommy Mica, warns that the traditional expectation of editorial independence is rapidly eroding, especially as short-form content grows in popularity. He finds it difficult to compete with creators who receive early access to vehicles and may have their content influenced by manufacturer payments.

Attempts to get clarity from DCar Studio, the group facilitating many of these influencer partnerships, proved challenging. The company is actually Dongchedi, a car trading platform owned by ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok. In 2024, Dongchedi raised $600 million, achieving a $3 billion valuation. Its mission appears to be operating as an independent e-commerce platform for vehicles, both within China and internationally.

Despite initial contact with a DCar content manager named Hanyang Xie, further communication stalled. Repeated attempts to schedule an interview or get answers to basic questions about their operations, the rationale behind working with US creators, and allegations of paid content were ultimately met with a polite refusal. The company declined to participate, leaving many questions about its strategy and its relationship with Chinese automakers unanswered.

(Source: The Verge)