MC Michael Coren On Marketplace All-in-One

“At this point, the center of car manufacturing is in China. They can make a car in 18 months, where it takes three to five years or longer for most U.S. brands.”

Marketplace All-in-One · October 2026

Context

Discussing proposed laws in Congress that would block American automakers from partnering with Chinese ones, he explains why that expertise matters.

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Transcript

Marketplace All-in-One Around 22:59 into the episode

Michael Coren

…having to sell to two markets. One is the rest of the world that is quickly electrifying. And then one is the United States that is one of the only countries to sort of hit a 6% or 10% market share of EVs and then decline. Now it's recovering, but we don't see a fast recovery in the near future.

Kai Ryssdal

You had to go to Mexico to write this piece because you can't get a Chinese-made EV in this country. That can't possibly stand, right? I mean, it's going to happen that they're going to come into this country somehow.

Michael Coren

Everyone I talked to said that. And in fact, there are a few Chinese-made EVs here, but they tend to be made by American companies and shipped over. However, there are several laws that are under consideration in Congress that would actually reverse the ability of even American car companies to partner with Chinese automakers. And typically, that's how you gain the expertise. And at this point, the center of the car making car manufacturing is in China. They can make a car in 18 months, where it takes three to five years or longer for most U.S. brands. And so if they are truly shut out of the United States, it would be probably unprecedented that the largest market economy in the world would also not be able to buy cars from the largest car companies in the world. But there are national security concerns. There are concerns about our own industry. And so it's a real dilemma.

Kai Ryssdal

Michael Coren. This is the Washington Post. Fascinating piece, Michael. Thanks for your time.

Michael Coren

Thank you.

Kai Ryssdal

This final note on the way out today in which Starbucks, man, I don't know. The company said on its earnings call yesterday they made plenty of money. Same store sales up. 7% in the United States. But the company also said it is working on a new AI function that is going to recognize customers when…

Speaker names come from our own diarization. The position is estimated from where the line sits in the episode.

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