Chinese Electric Vehicles: Trojan Horses for Spying and Sabotage?

Could the Chinese government track Chinese-made electric vehicles, monitor driver behavior worldwide, and target individuals they see as threats to national security? Could they even remotely detonate electric vehicles? A month ago, these questions might have seemed outlandish. However, recent revelations from Israel have raised concerns about totalitarian regimes using detonation devices to assassinate individuals. The Israeli government has publicly demonstrated its ability to remotely detonate personal devices if it deems someone a terrorist. Given this, what might China be capable of?

A British think tank has now issued warnings about the potential risks posed by Chinese-made electric vehicles, claiming they present "economic and security risks" to both the UK and the European Union. The latest report warns that Beijing could "weaponize" these vehicles.

### Report Highlights Economic and Security Concerns Over Chinese-Made EVs
The China Strategic Risks Institute (CSRI) recently published a report highlighting the UK's growing dependency on Chinese-made EVs. In the past five years, their market share has surged, from 2% in 2019 to 33.4% in the first half of 2023. The report warns that, without tariffs, the UK risks becoming a dumping ground for Chinese EVs and a potential gateway for them into Europe.

The UK is subsidizing Chinese EV imports, potentially leading to the loss of up to 198,000 vehicle manufacturing jobs. But the report raises deeper concerns: Chinese-made Cellular Internet of Things Modules (CIMs) embedded in these vehicles may send personal data back to Beijing, violating driver privacy and posing risks from hostile governments or rogue actors.

### Remote Control and Detonation Risks
The report suggests that these CIMs could enable remote shutdowns or even allow hackers to take control of vehicles. While this is alarming enough, the report also speculates that it’s not implausible for these modules to eventually be weaponized with detonation capabilities.

### Recommendations for UK Leaders
The CSRI report urges UK leaders to require foreign EV suppliers to guarantee that no personal data is transmitted. It also calls for China to share its source code with British authorities and mandates regular inspections of global data storage centers to ensure sensitive information isn't being collected or misused.

Sam Goodman, Senior Policy Director at CSRI, told *The Telegraph*, “The Government and the public seem unaware of the dependency, disruption, and data security risks posed by the CIMs in Chinese EVs. So far, there’s been little response from the government, but this issue needs addressing. Failure to act could leave the UK vulnerable to Chinese influence and even blackmail, while also distancing itself from its closest allies."