Car Wars

How China Seized the Auto Industry—and How America Can Win It Back

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About the Book

As the automobile—long a pillar of American identity and economic power—faces its biggest transformation in a century, industry insider Michael Dunne reveals how China dominated the electric vehicle market and what it means for America’s economic and technological future.

In Car Wars, veteran auto industry insider Michael Dunne reveals how China executed one of the most consequential industrial strategies of the 21st century: building a dominant manufacturing ecosystem for electric vehicles, batteries, and software-defined cars right under the noses of Western automakers.

Why did executives in Detroit dismiss Elon Musk and China’s production prowess for years, only to be blindsided in the 2020s by a Chinese EV fleet that is more advanced, more attractive to consumers, and dramatically cheaper than Western options? Drawing on decades of firsthand experience from Detroit to California and throughout Asia, Dunne traces the pivotal decisions, personalities, and policies that reshaped the global auto industry.

The stakes extend far beyond cars. As vehicles become platforms for software, chips, and data, the outcome of the EV race will influence economic power, national security, and technological leadership for decades to come. For readers of Chip Wars and AI Superpowers, Car Wars explains how China pulled ahead—and what the United States must do to catch up.

About the Author

Photograph by Tanya Mercado

Michael Dunne is the CEO of Dunne Insights, a consultancy with expertise on the future of global electric and autonomous vehicle markets. He was previously the president of GM Indonesia and the managing director of JD Power in China. Dunne speaks Chinese, Thai, and Indonesian. He lives in San Diego, California, with his wife Merlien and their four children. 

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster (January 5, 2027)
  • Length: 288 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781668224755

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Raves and Reviews

“A gripping tale that goes way beyond cars… Dunne guides us at a brisk pace through his unique, firsthand experience in Detroit, Silicon Valley, Indonesia, and China.” 

– Patrick McGee, New York Times bestselling author of Apple in China

“Deeply researched and as captivating as a mystery novel, Car Wars is essential reading to understand China’s emergence as an industrial and technological behemoth.” 

– Jim McGregor, Chairman of APCO Worldwide, Greater China, and author of One Billion Customers

"Dunne has written a high-stakes thriller with enormous implications for the future of not only America's car industry but for America itself. Car Wars draws you into the scene from the very first page." 

– President, Ken Wilcox Shanghai Silicon Valley Bank (2011-2019)

“Dunne knows cars, speaks fluent Chinese and lived through triumphs and reversals in China for more than two decades. His first-hand accounts put you directly in the scene, allowing you to feel the ambitions, the deceptions, and the crushing tension.” 

– Gary Gilchrist, Former Chairman, National Automotive Dealers Association

“Car Wars offers an inside view … We don't have to pretend everything's going to be okay in the auto industry. We do, however, need this book as our flashlight as we head out there.”

– Reilly Brennan, Co-founder and Partner, Trucks Venture Capital 

“Nobody is better positioned to tell the story of China’s car industry than Michael Dunne, America’s most astute observer of the Chinese car industry from its very beginning.” 

– Yasheng Huang, Epoch Foundation Professor of Global Economics and Management, MIT Sloan School of Management and author of The Rise and Fall of the EAST

"To understand cars, you need to understand China, and to understand Chinese cars you need to read Michael Dunne. His insights are smart, informed, unique, and paradigm forming."

– Jorge Guajardo, Former Mexican Ambassador to China

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