Security fears ‘invasion’ of electric cars from China as experts warn they could be remotely controlled to ‘cripple’ Britain

There are safety concerns over an ‘invasion’ of electric cars from China, as experts warn the vehicles could be remotely controlled to ‘cripple’ Britain.

Professor Jim Saker, president of the Institute of the Motor Industry, said Britain is facing ‘major safety problems’ from Chinese cars, adding there is ‘no way’ to prevent them from coming under remote control. to stand.

In a report to be shared with automakers and regulators, Professor Saker said: ‘The automaker may be in Shanghai and could hold back 100,000 to 300,000 cars across Europe, paralyzing a country.’

According to The Telegraphwhile regulators can test samples of cars for spyware or other security vulnerabilities, Prof. Saker added that checking thousands of vehicles is not possible.

As many as 30 new electric car brands are surveying the UK car market, most of them Chinese.

Last week, the head of Vauxhall owner Stellantis warned of an ‘invasion’ of Chinese electric cars.

Carlos Tavares claimed that Stellantis faces a difficult scenario where it has to compete with cheaper Chinese cars while investing billions of pounds in electrification.

Professor Saker highlighted a report published in July in which MPs warned that China has successfully invaded every sector of Britain’s economy.

Chinese automakers have more access to the battery technology needed for electric vehicles (EVs), meaning they can get vehicles to market faster.

Meanwhile, China is also more dominant in lithium production and refining, according to The Telegraph, and owns many of the mines that produce it.

Prof Saker warned that the UK has not done enough about the threat of China using its dominance in the market for key minerals such as lithium.

“Virtually every country is trying to fight against over-reliance on China, except the UK,” he said.