Volvo CEO Rejects U.S. 'Pirate' Label for Chinese Automakers: Chinese Automakers Succeed Through Strength, Not Unfair Competition

In an interview following Volvo's Q2 earnings release on July 17, CEO Hakan Samuelsson publicly responded to sharp criticism from White House senior trade advisor Peter Navarro, firmly rejecting the characterization of Chinese automakers as "pirates."

Navarro published a commentary in Politico on July 16, accusing Europe of "hesitation" and allowing Chinese automakers to rapidly capture global markets — specifically naming BYD as "the epitome of China's pirate business model: copy, absorb, subsidize, scale, dump, dominate." Samuelsson countered: "That's a bit much."

He stressed that BYD and Volvo's majority shareholder GEELY Automotive have risen to prominence in the global EV sector not through so-called "unfair means," but via clear, effective long-term strategy — especially their deep vertical integration across batteries, software, and full-vehicle supply chains. "They've done many things right."

Samuelsson added: "We're operating in a new competitive landscape — and must respect those players who have genuinely achieved in electrification." He grouped BYD, GEELY, Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz together as "a new generation of industry leaders."

Notably, despite the EU's imposition of anti-subsidy tariffs on Chinese-made EVs, BYD continues advancing local deployment of its premium brand Yang Wang in Europe; meanwhile, Volvo recently received U.S. government approval to keep selling connected vehicles in the American market — a key policy hurdle cleared for its global operations under Chinese capital ownership.