- The Beijing Automotive Group owns a 9.98 percent share of Mercedes.
- Geely founder and chairman Eric Li Shufu owns a 9.7 percent share.
- A ban on Chinese cars could include those with more than 15 percent Chinese ownership.
Mercedes-Benz is one of Germany’s most iconic brands, but many don’t know it has strong ties to China. This could have been a problem as a bipartisan bill aims to ban the importation, manufacturing, and sale of vehicles with software and hardware with ties to China, but one of the senators behind a push to permanently ban vehicles and car companies with Chinese ties says Mercedes is safe.
The bill, which recently stalled in the Senate and will likely be delayed after the midterm election, aims to build on legislation introduced by the Biden administration that has already effectively banned Chinese cars from being sold in the US. In addition, the bill would bar companies with more than 15 percent Chinese ownership from selling vehicles in the United States.
Read: US Lawmakers Push For A Permanent Ban On Chinese Cars
As it stands, the Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC Group) owns a 9.98 percent share of Mercedes-Benz, while founder and chairman of Geely, Eric Li Shufu, owns an additional 9.7 percent.
Is Mercedes Under Threat?
The Washington Post reports that Republican Senator Rand Paul was the one to initially raise concerns about the bill effectively banning Mercedes-Benz from selling cars in the US. Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, who is sponsoring the bill alongside Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin, acknowledged work has to be done to ensure this doesn’t happen.
“We’re not going to have the president of the United States sign a bill — nor would he — that bans Mercedes-Benz from the United States of America,” he said. “We have to figure out a way to manage all of that.”
Moreno questioned whether Mercedes-Benz could reduce its Chinese ownership to under 15 percent “without debilitating their company.” He also noted that lawmakers would need to figure out a way to allow Volvo to keep selling its cars locally, despite being majority owned by Chinese firm Geely.
It’s not just Mercedes-Benz that is under threat by the current bill. Geely also has a 17 percent stake in Aston Martin, also pushing it beyond the 15 percent threshold.
