Mercedes-Benz may be shut out of U.S. market under bill aimed at Chinese automaker ownership

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1. Mercedes Benz vehicles built in Alabama may be banned in the U.S.

Mercedes Benz vehicles built in Alabama may be banned in the U.S.

Alabama Public Radio | By Pat Duggins
Published May 29, 2026 at 3:37 PM CDT

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Multiple published reports say legislation making its way through Congress could ban the sale of Mercedes Benz cars and trucks in the U.S., possibly including those built at the European automaker's North American plant in Tuscaloosa. Members of the House and Senate are considering a measure called the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act of 2026, which bans companies with Chinese ownership.

That could mean a problem for Mercedes-Benz, whose biggest owner is BAIC, a Chinese automaker which holds a nearly ten percent stake in the German based car company. Possibly worse for Alabama, CNBC reports that Mercedes could potentially be barred from manufacturing vehicles in the United States as well as selling them.

The impact of the Mercedes Benz plant in Alabama is huge. The website Autos Drive America says the North American factory generates $1.5 billion dollars a year for the state economy, as well as providing nearly sixty thousand jobs. The proposed legislation would block companies with direct or indirect ties with nations considered “foreign adversaries” including China, Russia, and North Korea, from building or selling cars in the United States.

The Alabama plant has reportedly produced more than five million vehicles since 1997. A separate facility in South Carolina facility has produced close to a half million more since 2006.

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