A Nio car on display at Nio House, a Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer’s manufacturing base, in Hefei, Anhui Province, China, on April 2, 2025.
Florence Law | Reuters
DETROIT — America’s largest auto dealer has no interest in selling cars from China-based brands domestically at this time, its CEO said Wednesday.
But it’s not necessarily because of politics, logistics or potential consumer backlash. Risu Motors CEO Brian DeBoer. His company already has at least 10 stores in the UK selling vehicles from three Chinese companies.
DeBoer, who has grown Lisure exponentially in recent years, said potential costs, return on investment and required infrastructure, primarily due to U.S. franchising rules, are the biggest hurdles at the moment.
“We’re very excited to have that opportunity in the UK, but the fundamental differences are significant,” DeBoer told investors on Wednesday, citing the practice of “franchise competition” in the UK, which allows Lisure to offer brands from different companies in the same showroom if they are considered competitors.
Mr DeBoer said dealers would be allowed to display vehicles from companies such as China’s Chery, which is growing in Europe, in existing UK showrooms and the cost would be less than $100,000.
This is not the case in the United States, where franchise dealer laws vary from state to state and are stricter, allowing companies to have more influence, if not regulation, on such decisions.
His comments come as Chinese car brands accelerate exports and expansion outside their home market.
The global market share of Chinese brands has soared nearly 70% in five years, and many experts see this as a threat to American automakers, including the expected expansion of Chinese brands into the United States. Cars made in China are sold in the United States by brands such as Buick and Volvo, but not by Chinese brands such as BYD and Nio.
In the US, Lithia has to set up new retail locations and service operations to support the distribution of Chinese brands, which means it has to make entirely new investments. He noted that approximately 50% to 60% of the company’s profits come from services and parts.
“We probably won’t be an early adopter with respect to the U.S., and potentially Canada as well, primarily because we typically don’t have a dual-franchise situation,” he said.
China recently announced its expansion into Canada, a relatively small auto market that has eliminated 100% of tariffs on imported cars from China amid trade tensions with the Trump administration.
But DeBoer said the Oregon-based company is not closing its doors completely as Chinese brands continue to grow globally.
“We have relationships with many Chinese brands,” he said. “We will always keep an open mind and see what opportunities may be presented to us in the future.”
DeBoer’s comments came on the company’s call to discuss fourth-quarter and year-end earnings, which included annual sales growth of 4% and gross profit of 3.1%.
