How an electric car traveled from China, but couldn't get through Customs

PHILADELPHIA - Customs officers have abruptly ended the journey of an electric car that was shipped here from China.

The vehicle, a 2020 Lianke LK4600D, was seized after authorities determined it did not meet federal safety standards, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The small red car, which was outfitted with a rooftop solar panel, is valued at $1,900, the agency said in a statement Thursday.

It was seized Dec. 8, after a review that began weeks earlier, the statement said.

CBP officers initially inspected the vehicle on Nov. 17 after it arrived in a damaged wooden crate, according to a statement from the agency.

The car was detained as "an unusual commodity" while officers consulted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, it said.

The safety agency on Nov. 23 determined the vehicle did not meet federal standards, leading to its confiscation on Dec. 8.

Photographs provided by CBP show a boxy, four-door vehicle with the word, Explorer, on its front grill.

An English-language sign on the rooftop rack reads: "High-end customized, automotive solar power generation components."

Other signs on the car declare "Short trips never recharge" and "clean energy solar power."

The CBP statement did not detail how the vehicle fell short of U.S. safety standards.

The car was intended for delivery to an address in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, the statement said.

The agency often consults with "consumer safety partners … to ensure that consumers are safe from potential threats posed by non-compliant imports,” noted Casey Durst, a CBP official.

Jim Walsh is a free-range reporter who’s been roaming around South Jersey for decades. His interests include crime, the courts, economic development and being first with breaking news. Reach him at jwalsh@gannettnj.com or look for him in traffic.

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