It's been largely believed that Chinese automakers will target the lower-end of the US car market with affordable entry-level vehicles. However, according to a Chinese car expert, we should expect an influx of premium vehicles targeting the luxury car market. President of Hong Kong consulting firm Dunne Automotive, Michael Dunne, told Automotive News that we can expect a raft of technically-advanced, electric, and self-driving cars to flood the US auto market in the coming years.

"Aren't Chinese companies supposed to be low-cost competitors that will come in with $10,000 cars?" Dunne asked the press at Detroit. "No, they're coming in with premium electric vehicles." Previously, mass market manufacturers such as BYD Auto Co, Guangzhou Automobile Group and Great Wall Motor Co. all had plans to enter the US light-car market. These plans have since been put on hold, paving the way for expensive EVs such as the Faraday Future FF 91 to infiltrate the market, which is rumored to cost nearly $300,000. With the likes of Lucid Motors and Wanxiang Group planning to take on Tesla, not to mention the record-setting Nio EP9, it's going to become a very competitive market.

It's not all about which company can produce the fastest EV, though. Out of all the Chinese carmakers, Dunne believes that Geely, which owns Volvo Cars, has the best chance of success in the US, with plans to launch an innovative, fully connected SUV under its new Lynk & CO brand which Dunne thinks will appeal to the California car market. The downside, of course, is that these cars won't exactly be affordable. As such, Dunne admits that these Chinese automakers are aiming to compete with the quality and performance of US cars, rather than pricing – at least not yet. "I don't see the Chinese coming in with extremely competitive pricing and taking market share away," he said. "They'll come, but it will be gradual."