Ford pleads for China and Russia: cars are ready, but the software is in doubt

Washington's ban on Chinese and Russian software in connected vehicles forces global automakers, including Ford, to apply for exemptions or risk losing models from the US market.

The American rule against Chinese software in connected vehicles is starting to hit not only Chinese brands. According to Reuters, Ford and other automakers are applying for licenses to keep the ability to sell certain China-assembled cars or models with components from China in the United States.

The rule is simple on paper and complicated in practice. The US Department of Commerce, through BIS, restricts the import and sale of connected vehicles whose software or key components have a substantial link to China or Russia. Software restrictions apply to vehicles of the 2027 model year, hardware restrictions — to the 2030 model year. The scope covers telematics, cloud connectivity, cameras, communication modules and systems that can influence how the car moves.

For the auto industry this is not a question of a single chip. A modern car contains millions of lines of code, dozens of suppliers and regular over-the-air updates. Even if a car is sold under an American or European brand, part of its development, support or component base may go through China. So companies have to do more than swap a part — they have to prove to the regulator who wrote the code, who maintains it and who has access to it.

Ford finds itself in a particularly awkward spot. The company has publicly backed tougher measures against Chinese cars, but it depends on the international supply chain just as much as other global brands. If a license is not granted, certain models may face delays, trim changes or a rebuild of their digital architecture to meet American rules.

Buyers will see the consequences not as a neat political slogan but in price and availability. The harder certification becomes, the more expensive it is to bring a model to market. Cars with Chinese assembly or Chinese electronic modules may disappear from configurators, get held up at dealers or arrive with different versions of infotainment and driver assistants.

Bans on connected vehicles show a new level of competition: a car is no longer just a product on wheels. It is a device with wheels, a camera, a modem and code that is now scrutinized almost as strictly as the engine.