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Chinese EVs give U.S. car creators a potent subject: feature-packed vehicles that many American viewers cannot buy at home. That access gap fuels curiosity, while coverage can also help Chinese automakers build awareness beyond their home market. The product appeal is real; claims that creators are secretly paid to promote the cars are a separate matter, and the reporting has not established them.
Why Chinese EVs make compelling creator content
The appeal starts with what viewers can see: unfamiliar designs, dense technology and features that stand out in a walkaround or test video. Omar Rana, the creator behind OmarDrives, told The Verge that Chinese vehicles had improved rapidly. As an example, the report describes the Geely Galaxy E5 compact SUV with heated, ventilated and massaging seats, a digital instrument display, a head-up display, a reclining front passenger seat and a 360-degree camera. Its cited $20,000 price was an illustrative figure in that November 2025 report—not a current quote or a U.S. retail price.
Other models invite a simple, clickable question: what is this car like, and why have most U.S. viewers not seen it on local roads? Marques Brownlee’s video about the Li Auto Mega was titled “The Best EV You Can’t Buy.” The Verge reported 1.6 million views at publication; that is a dated count, not its current total. The report also describes IShowSpeed buying a BYD Yangwang U9 during a China tour and notes that its suspension can lift the car several inches. Whether that car could be imported into the United States was uncertain in the report.
Doug DeMuro’s coverage included the Fangchengbao Leopard 5, Xiaomi SU7 and MG Cyberster; Forrest Jones made a video about the Yangwang U8. These examples illustrate the breadth of creator interest, not a recommendation to buy any of the vehicles.
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Why viewers watch cars they may not be able to buy
Scarcity is part of the story. When creators show a vehicle that is unavailable to most viewers in their market, the coverage becomes a window into a different car market—and prompts questions about what U.S. buyers are missing. DeMuro told The Verge that audiences are interested in how Chinese-market vehicles operate and differ from American-market vehicles partly because they are not offered in the United States.
The November 2025 report says tariffs and software-related rules have made U.S. sales extremely difficult. That is a description in the report, not a legal assessment here: current import rules and the eligibility of any particular model have not been independently verified. A video appearance does not establish that a car can be imported, registered, serviced or purchased in the United States.
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Why Chinese automakers may value U.S. creator coverage
Attention in the United States can have value even if a manufacturer’s immediate sales plans focus elsewhere. Mark Greeven, a professor of management innovation and dean of Asia at IMD Business School, told The Verge that English-speaking American influencers can shape Western opinion. The report presents creator coverage as one way Chinese automakers can build global awareness while pursuing markets where their vehicles can actually be sold.
That is a plausible marketing rationale, not proof that a particular automaker sponsored a particular video. The distinction matters: a car can attract organic coverage because it is novel, while a company may also see strategic value in creators showing its products abroad.
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What the sponsorship reporting does—and does not—show
The Verge report describes rumors of undisclosed payments and creators’ concerns about sponsorship transparency. But the creators interviewed could not provide evidence that Chinese automakers had secretly paid creators for coverage. Some described policies against taking money from automakers. The available reporting therefore supports saying that concerns and suspicions exist; it does not support presenting hidden payments as established fact.
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Roman Mica of TFL Studios described his channel’s reliance on YouTube advertising and said it did not take money from car manufacturers. He also expressed frustration at the possibility that other creators receive manufacturer checks. His account is an attributed view, not proof of what another creator or company was paid. Mica separately criticized sponsorship transparency on Facebook and Instagram; Tommy Mica raised concerns that paid creators may get earlier access and that manufacturers could have more influence over coverage. These are their observations, not measured findings about the whole industry.
Greeven also contrasted U.S. creators’ stated emphasis on independence with some Chinese livestreaming sellers whom he described as company employees who build audiences while selling products. That characterization belongs to Greeven and should not be generalized to all Chinese creators, livestreamers or platforms. A creator’s relationship with a brand is best assessed from specific disclosures and evidence, not inferred from the car’s country of origin or the fact that a video exists.
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What the China-side audience figures tell us
Separate platform and consumer measures help explain why automotive marketing on social media matters in China. They describe activity and buyer consideration, not the effect of U.S. influencer videos on sales.
| Measure | Reported figure | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Weibo automotive trending topics | 232% year-over-year growth in 2024 | Platform activity, as summarized by Weibo and the 2025 Weibo Platform Automotive Ecosystem Report. Weibo report summary. |
| New-energy-vehicle brands’ share of advertising on Weibo | 11% growth in 2024 | Advertising-share growth reported by Weibo; it is not a measure of vehicle sales. Weibo report summary. |
| Long-term automotive-interest users on Weibo | More than 8 million users in 2024; their interactions exceeded 3.6 billion | Platform audience and interaction figures reported by Weibo. Weibo report summary. |
| Short-term automotive-interest users around the Beijing Auto Show | Nearly 27 million gained | A reported audience increase around the event, not a count of buyers. Weibo report summary. |
| Premium Chinese EVs considered by premium German-brand buyers | 40% in 2024, up from 7% in 2023 | Initial consideration sets among Chinese auto consumers in McKinsey’s survey—not U.S. interest. McKinsey, China Auto Consumer Insights 2025. |
| Mass-market Chinese brands considered by mass multinational-brand buyers | 70% in 2024, up from 49% in 2023 | Initial consideration sets among Chinese auto consumers in McKinsey’s survey—not purchase rates or U.S. interest. McKinsey, China Auto Consumer Insights 2025. |
Weibo’s figures concern activity on a social platform and advertising; McKinsey’s figures concern what surveyed Chinese consumers considered. None demonstrates that influencer coverage caused a sale. Taken together, they show why social platforms and brand awareness are commercially relevant, without proving that a given video changes a buyer’s decision.
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How to read a Chinese-EV video as a viewer
- Separate the car from the access question. A compelling demonstration can reveal a vehicle’s features, but it does not establish local price, availability, import eligibility or ownership support.
- Check the date and context of numbers. A video’s view count, quoted price or platform metric may be a snapshot rather than a current figure.
- Look for clear sponsorship disclosures. Do not treat suspicion as proof, or assume that an undisclosed relationship exists without evidence.
- Distinguish audience interest from purchase intent. Views, comments and consideration sets are different measures and cannot be substituted for sales.
The story is not simply that creators like a new kind of electric car. Chinese EVs offer visible novelty, U.S. viewers bring questions about products they generally cannot buy, and manufacturers have reason to value international attention. Those forces can coexist with legitimate questions about sponsorship, but the available reporting does not establish secret payments.
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