The Trump administration allows Volvo to continue selling connected cars in the United States

Volvo Cars has reached an agreement with the Trump administration that exempts the automaker from a US crackdown on China’s connected vehicle technology.

The Swedish automaker, which is majority owned by China’s Geely Holdings, said on Tuesday it had received specific permission from the US Commerce Department to continue importing and selling vehicles equipped with Chinese connected car technology in the United States. Connected car technology includes software that covers everything from syncing with phones to some automated driving features. Bloomberg was the first to report the special mandate.

Volvo was banned under rules put in place by the Biden administration in January 2025 that banned vehicles equipped with software and hardware developed and maintained by Chinese companies due to national security concerns. The rules start with 2027 model year vehicles equipped with software developed and maintained by Chinese companies. The other ban prohibits the import of vehicle-connected devices with 2030 model year vehicles.

Volvo cars are primarily manufactured in Sweden and imported into the United States, with the exception of the EX90, which is assembled at the company’s plant in South Carolina. But Volvo’s ties with China’s Geely – and its manufacturing operations in the country – mean it will be banned under the new rules.

Volvo said the approval came after “constructive discussions” with the Commerce Department and other US officials regarding corporate 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 — into production at the South Carolina plant. In March, Volvo said it would also bring all production of the Polestar 3, an electric car from its sister company Polestar, to the US plant. The Polestar 3 is also currently produced in Chengdu, China.

The rule, known as “Securing ICT and Services Supply Chain: Connected Vehicles,” spends a lot of time dealing with the threat posed by vehicles with automated driving systems developed by companies with ties to China.

Under the rules, Chinese companies will be banned from testing self-driving vehicles in the United States. Today, several of these companies, including Baidu’s Apollo Autonomous Driving LLC, Pony.ai, and WeRide, have permits to test their self-driving vehicle technology (with a human safety operator behind the wheel) in California. TechCrunch reached out to the Department of Motor Vehicles, the agency that regulates autonomous vehicles in the state, to see if these permits would be revoked.