CEBU: Australia has not made any move to restrict Chinese electric vehicles at its military bases, Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Wednesday (Oct 28), even though the United States military announced a ban on BYD cars at an air base in Japan.
The US military said last week that BYD vehicles presented an “unacceptable” and “unmitigable” risk as the ban was implemented at the Kadena Air Base on Japan’s Okinawa island.
“We obviously continue to monitor all the safety around our bases in every respect, but we haven’t taken that step,” Marles said in an interview.
There was also no request from the United States for Australia to take a similar step, Marles added.
Australia is one of BYD’s largest export markets, along with Brazil and Britain, aided by relatively low trade barriers.