Warning that China will use electric cars to spy on Britain: Ministers fear Beijing could use...
Senior government ministers fear that Chinese electric cars imported to the UK could be used to spy on Britain in the future by collecting masses of data on customers. A group of cross-party MPs has raised concerns that the UK could cede control of the country's car market's infrastructure to , adding this could pose significant security risks. Sources within government are concerned that legislation brought in by their own former leader which will demand car dealers have at least 22 percent of sales being electric vehicles from 2024 may cause an influx of Chinese technology. The policy is part of efforts to reach the target of banning all new and diesel cars in the UK from 2030, a step widely seen as essential in the battle against the climate crisis. But as China develops cheaper electric vehicles, which would be used by the exporter's rulers. China dominates the international market for electric cars partly due to its grip on the supply chain. The nation controls much of the mining of crucial raw materials, 80 percent of the battery-making for EVs is controlled by Chinese firms and it is the world's top car exporter. A senior government source told The last night: 'If [an electric car] is manufactured in a country like China, how certain can you be that it won't be a vehicle for collecting intel and data? 'If you have electric vehicles manufactured by countries who are already using technology to spy, why would they not do the same here?' It comes as figures show the - with one electric car sold every minute in July. One former minister even compared the situation to that of Huawei, a Chinese firm which was banned from the UK's 5G network over security fears. Former Home Secretary Dame Priti Patel said: 'These are realistic risks. All we have to do is look at how government tied themselves up with things such as 5G.' A current minister told the paper they agreed with surveillance fears: 'That is the world we're going into.' Forecourts are expected to be flooded with up to 25 brands of cheap Chinese electric cars when new and diesel cars sales are banned in 2030. outflanked the West to become the main power in the electric vehicle (EV) market when most major manufacturers were focused on traditional vehicles. In January the Security Services took apart a UK government car after a Chinese SIM card capable of transmitting location data was found inside. Tu Le, of Sino Auto Insights, a consultancy that follows China's auto industry, warned that the sensors used for driving assist systems can also be used to map neighbourhoods, which 'in the wrong hands' could allow hostile states to map sensitive Government buildings or military compounds. Dan Marks, of the Royal United Services Institute security think-tank, said a range of EV suppliers from different nations was needed, adding: 'When the supplier is China, there should be rigorous, prescriptive security controls. Ex-Tory leader and co-chairman of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China Sir Iain Duncan Smith previously told the Daily Mail: 'Anything to do with China is a security threat. China is doing its level best to break us. 'We have to get rid of devices inside the technology in their cars that report back things like locations. They could even lock into the systems of the car and hear what you say. 'For God's sake, wake up to the threat.'