China was never going to export cars freely indeed. Automotive is protected pretty much everywhere. This is why large automakers have so many factories throughout the world. Such a practice wouldn't make sense without restrictions by the governments. What is going to happen is Chinese manufacturers will expand globally too.
And I agree about the nature of American tariffs too. They are of malice and China needs to react adequately. I don't think those "moral high ground" arguments hold any water. Nobody in the USA applauds China for being open.
American cars are basically taking themselves out of the market, bans are irrelevant. In fact, IMO, if any western or Japanese brand withdraws from the Chinese market without government intervention it is a pretty strong signal. In fact, I think a ban at this point would work AGAINST perceptions because it would be publicized as China being scared of competition.
Most western auto journalists say Chinese PHEVs and EVs are miles ahead. What competition does a DM-i 5.0 car have in North America? Nothing. The Camry Hybrid is double the fuel consumption and has no EV mode. At double the Chinese MSRP it is still super competitive value-wise, even at 3X it would probably be competitive if there was some performance tuning.
One of the most popular PHEVs in North America is the RAV4 Prime, the limiting factor of sales is mainly production. The EV range is only 70 Km, a DM-i 5.0 version of the Song Plus would likely beat that plus offer better fuel economy.
This is what Motor Trend said about the current-gen Song Plus
