Electric vehicles at a Volkswagen plant in Dresden, Germany. The company is an extreme example of how difficult it has been for foreign automakers to cope in the U.S. car market.

The BYD Explorer No. 1, carrying 5,000 electric cars, at a stop in Singapore last year on its way to the Netherlands.

Group14 Technologies, a start-up, slowed the construction of a battery materials factory in Moses Lake, Wash., after its customers in China balked at paying higher tariffs.

Demonstrators outside a Tesla dealership in Palo Alto, Calif., on Saturday.

Elon Musk during President Trump’s inauguration parade held last month inside Capital One Arena in Washington. Mr. Musk’s political activities and reduced presence at Tesla are stirring dissatisfaction within the company.

Rachel Culin plans to sell her Toyota Prius after recently buying a Chevrolet Bolt.