President Trump has said his policies will revive auto manufacturing in the United States. But Republican attacks on electric vehicles could do just the opposite, some industry experts say, by surrendering leadership in an emerging technology.

China already has a formidable head start in electric vehicles and the batteries and minerals needed to produce them. Companies like BYD, SAIC and Geely produced 70 percent of the electric cars sold globally in 2024, according to the International Energy Agency. Automakers in the United States produced just 5 percent.

Tesla is the only American company that ranks among the world’s 10 largest electric vehicle makers. General Motors and Ford Motor are minor players. Even Tesla, which made electric cars mainstream and held the No. 1 spot for several years, has been overtaken by BYD and Geely, according to SNE Research, a South Korean research firm.

The more electric vehicles that Chinese companies make, the more difficult it will be for U.S. carmakers to catch up. The Chinese companies can spread the costs of developing new technology across more vehicles. They can buy parts at more favorable prices and reap other benefits of the economies of scale that are critical to success in the auto industry.

One in five new cars sold worldwide is electric, and the percentage is increasing. That is one of the reasons that U.S. automakers have steadily lost ground in Asia, Europe and Latin America in recent years. Many consumers in those countries are instead buying cars from Chinese companies that offer a wide array of affordable electric and hybrid vehicles.

G.M. and Ford now earn a large majority of their profits in the United States. Analysts say their sales in the rest of the world could be reduced to rounding errors in the coming years based on current trends.