Trump administration allows Volvo to continue selling connected cars in the US

Volvo Cars has struck a deal with the Trump administration that does not allow the automaker to be exempt from US interference in China-sourced auto technology.

The Swedish automaker, majority-owned by China’s Geely Holding, said on Tuesday it had received approval from the US Commerce Department to continue selling and selling Chinese-made cars and connected car technology in the United States. Connected car technology includes software that covers everything from connecting with phones to other autonomous driving features. Bloomberg was the first to report on the special permit.

Volvo was banned under the law completed by the Biden Administration in January 2025 which banned vehicles with software and hardware developed and maintained by Chinese companies for national security purposes. The laws it started with 2027 cars with software developed and maintained by Chinese companies. Another restriction that restricts the import of connected car devices starts with cars of the 2030 model year.

Volvo cars are mainly manufactured in Sweden and exported to the United States, except for the EX90, which is assembled at the company’s factory in South Carolina. But Volvo’s ties to China’s Geely – and its manufacturing operations in the country – mean it will be banned under the new rules.

Volvo said the approval follows “proactive discussions” with the Commerce Department and other US officials regarding the company’s governance, technology, and data security. The automaker said it can now move forward with its expansion plans in the United States.

The automaker announced in September 2025 plans to bring two additional vehicles – the XC60 midsize SUV and a new hybrid vehicle – to the South Carolina plant. In March, Volvo said it would bring back full production Polestar 3An EV from his company Polestar, to a US factory. The Polestar 3 is currently also manufactured in Chengdu, China.

The authoritytitled “Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain: Connected Cars,” spends a lot of time on the threat of self-driving cars made by Chinese companies.

Under the rules, Chinese companies will be barred from testing autonomous vehicles in the United States. Today, several of these companies, including Baidu’s Apollo Autonomous Driving LLC, Pony.ai, and WeRide, have licenses to test autonomous vehicle technology (with a public safety driver behind the wheel) in California. TechCrunch has reached out to the Department of Motor Vehicles, the agency that oversees AVs in the state, to find out if the licenses will be revoked.