US Lawmakers Looking to Ban CFMoto Via Connected-Vehicle Embargo

The notoriously paranoid US government is looking to limit the growth of Chinese brands in the country, specifically ones which produce connected cars, ATVs and bikes, and it has CFMoto, among others, in its crosshairs.

The American website RideApart has reported on the news, and cites a Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) proposal titled ‘Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain: Connected Vehicles’.

In a nutshell, BIS sees a connected vehicle, be it a car, quad, motorcycle, or ATV, as something that holds data on the individual who owns it or drives it. That’s a problem for the US Department of Commerce, with it specifically calling vehicles such as these “unacceptable risks to national security and [to] U.S. persons”.

And it might not just be vehicles and tech developed in China that the US is looking to restrict, with the summary on the Federal Register website noting that “communications technology and services (ICTS) that are designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by persons owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of certain foreign adversaries”. Now, the USA has a list of these so-called ‘foreign adversaries’ is pretty large, but could also include North Korea, Russia, Cuba, Iran, and Venezuela. Granted, not all of those are super-powers in the automotive-connected vehicle game, making the move a particularly painful one for China given the USA’s sizable buying power.

But while this sounds like a ban on CFMoto in the North American continent, it probably won’t end up with anything quite as drastic. Instead what could happen is CFMoto simply adapt its range, and continue to sell connected vehicles (it makes ATVs, quads and motorbikes currently) where it is permitted to, adjusting those models specifically for sale in the US market. It’s the kind of move that would be tricky to pull off in other regions, but given the size of the US market for bikes, it might be worthwhile. America is also one of the world’s biggest markets for off-road vehicles, bikes, ATVs, and quads. Given how lucrative it is for manufacturers to be able to play on such a big field, sticking in the US power sports market means the extra work and cost would be very worthwhile.