Political states have a smart-car issue. For those that don’t work quickly and decisively, it’s about to get a significant regional security headache.
About 20 of China’s largest car companies have rushed to sign fresh strategic alliances with DeepSeek to incorporate its AI technologies into their cars over the past few days.  , This poses fast surveillance, data and privacy issues for governments. Although, if it weren’t the circumstance, foreign relations would be made easier there. However, China’s suite of national security and intelligence laws make it impossible for Chinese companies to legitimately safeguard the information they collect.
China is the world’s largest producer of trucks, and is now making good quality, low-cost and tech-heavy cars at a speed no country can match. It has also bought Western business stalwarts, including Volvo, MG and Lotus. It resells a range of US and European car models to worldwide customers through joint ventures and exports them.
DeepSeek has struck partnerships with many large companies, such as BYD, Great Wall Motor, Chery, SAIC ( owner of MG and LDV ) and Geely ( owner of Volvo and Lotus ).  , In addition, big US, European and Japanese companies, including General Motors, Volkswagen and Nissan, have signed on to incorporate DeepSeek via their joint ventures.
One of the many global markets where Taiwanese automobiles have gained a lot of grip is Australia. In Australia, over 210 000 new cars were imported in 2024, and Chinese automakers are expected to account for about 20 % of the market in 2025, up from 1.7 percent in 2019. The government’s financial incentives, which encourage Australians to buy electric vehicles, contribute to this new achievement. About 80 % of all electric cars sold in Australia are then produced by China.
Finally, there are international markets where Chinese car companies are competing for market share in China rather than in Australia ( or in Russia, the Middle East, and South America ). This is the case in the United States and in Europe, for instance. This is because many foreign companies use their joint ventures in China to buy China-made, foreign-branded cars into international markets.  , Like companies include Volkswagen, Volvo, BMW, Lincoln, Polestar, Hyundai and Kia.
Through its Chinese joint venture, Volkswagen will presumably companion with DeepSeek. Additionally, General Motors has stated that it will include DeepSeek in all of its upcoming Cadillac and Buick models. It’s unclear how many such vehicles may end up in overseas markets this year, that will likely depend on each country’s laws.
It is not amazing that DeepSeek is a sought-after companion, with businesses scrambling to connect and build off its systems. Additionally, the announcement of this AI breakthrough coming out of China doesn’t had surprised, and much more should be expected. Over the past 20 years, Foreign businesses, universities, and medical institutions have made significant gains in the most crucial technologies fields. Other components, such as business espionage, have also helped.
But widespread integration of Chinese AI systems into and services carries significant information, privacy, management, repression, intervention and spy risks. Some state strategies will be able to keep up with these risks, and they are unlikely to ever go away.
For some countries, particularly developing places, this global connectivity may be a bit of a non-event. It won’t be seen as a safety issue that deserves immediate policy interest above other pressing climate, human security, development and economic challenges.
But for others, it will quickly become a problem—a extreme one, given the speed at which this integration was play.
Knowing the risks, governments , ( federal and state ), militaries, university groups and companies ( such as industrial behemoth Toyota ) have moved quickly to ban or limit the use of DeepSeek during work time and via work devices. Regulators, especially across Europe, are launching standard studies. After authorities allegedly discovered that DeepSeek was sending North Korean customer data to Chinese firm ByteDance, whose companies include , South Korea has gone more than most and removed it from local app stores.
However, the inclusion of Chinese AI systems and models into data-hungry bright vehicles has certainly received sufficient public interest. This rapid change will put a lot of governments on the spot worldwide.
Smart trucks are well-equipped with the most recent technologies and designed to fit into our daily lives. As users move between work, family and social commitments, they travel with a combination of microphones, cameras, voice recognition technology, radars, GPS trackers and exceedingly biological devices—such as those for fingerprint scanning and facial recognition to monitor vehicle behaviour and review vehicle access. It’s also safe to assume that multiple mobile phones and other smart devices, such as smart watches, are present, some connecting to the car daily.
Then there is the information aspect, which could lead to the hiring of new AI assistants who won’t always be able to provide drivers with reliable and accurate information. At times, they may censor the truth or provide Chinese Communist Party talking points on major political, economic, security and human rights issues. If these AI models continue to be popular internationally and remain unregulated, they will expose future generations to systems that lack integrity in information. The amount of censored and false information that is provided to users of these systems will likely increase as China’s internal politics and strategic outlook change, just as it does for Chinese citizens domestically.
Chinese built and maintained AI assistants may soon sit at the heart of a growing number of vehicles driven by politicians, military officers, policymakers, intelligence officials, defence scientists and others who work on sensitive issues. A realistic and actionable plan to deal with this is required by democratic governments.
Although mistakes can occur when people are busy and rushing, it may be possible to prevent government-issued devices from connecting to Chinese AI systems, but it’s difficult to imagine how users could prevent the majority of their personal information from being exchanged with such systems. It won’t suffice to impose all security obligations on the individual.
Australia has . Australia banned “high-risk vendors” from its 5G telecommunications network in 2018, and the discussions that followed that decision taught us how important it was for the business community to receive a timely and informed decision—something some other nations with. Geostrategic circumstances haven’t improved since Australia banned high-risk vendors from 5G, unfortunately, they’ve worsened.
Politicians and policymakers have been warned not to use the same brands that will soon integrate DeepSeek’s technology because of domestic policy in Australia. Parliamentarians may need more frequent access to more regular security briefings and updates as and when those risks change, according to experts from all parties test-driving BYD and LDV vehicles.
Tackling this latest challenge head-on is a first-order priority that can’t wait until after the 2025 federal election.
Governments must make sure their security teams are immediately aware of this problem. This includes a thorough analysis of the risks as well as a consideration of potential problems. Partner and allies should communicate their findings to one another. Australia’s experience in the years leading up to its 5G decision, when the Australian Signals Directorate conducted technical evaluation and scenario-planning, is an example of the kind of activity that should be included in such an assessment.
When it comes to high-risk vendors, there is also a question of choice, or rather lack thereof, that needs more analysis from governments. If a product comes from a high-risk vendor, democratic governments should not permit the commercial sector to offer only one product. However, there are significant internet providers in Australia that only offer Chinese TP-Link modems for some internet services, and also businesses that only sell Hikvision or Dahua surveillance systems ( both Chinese companies were included in the US Entity List in 2019 because of their involvement with human rights violations and abuses ).
Consumers must also be given legitimate choices, including the right to refuse to choose high-risk vendors, in addition to better protecting their digital rights. This is particularly crucial when choosing vendors that will connect to national critical infrastructure or have access to citizens ‘ personal data. Currently, across many countries, those rights are not being adequately protected.
Consumers deserve a choice on the nature of AI systems as smart cars integrate them, especially since censorship and information manipulation will be a feature of some products. Governments must also make a pledge to their citizens that they will only approve AI systems that have met a high standard of privacy, data integrity, and privacy protection.
Which brings us back to DeepSeek and other AI models that will soon emerge from China. Governments must make sure they aren’t then forcing their citizens to take on those same risks simply because they have given consumers no other choice when they are told by politicians, government officials, companies, universities, and other countries that are prohibited from using DeepSeek because such use is too high-risk.