How China’s EV Boom Caught Western Car Companies Asleep at the Wheel
How China’s EV Boom Caught Western Car Companies Asleep at the Wheel
Auto execs in the US, Europe, and Japan never thought Chinese EVs were a threat. Now they’re coming to wipe the floor with their Western counterparts.
Auto execs in the US, Europe, and Japan never thought Chinese EVs were a threat. Now they’re coming to wipe the floor with their Western counterparts.
“You won’t believe what’s coming,” warned the title of a January 2023 video from the Inside China Auto YouTube channel. “Europe’s premium car makers aren’t ready for this,” warned another video from the same channel, uploaded in July.
Produced by Shanghai-based automotive journalist Mark Rainford, a former communications executive for Mercedes-Benz, the channel is one of several by China-based Western commentators agog at what they are seeing—and driving.
American, Japanese, and European car manufacturers had decades head start in this area and they blew it chasing higher profit margins on large trucks and SUVs with lax EPA gas mileage restrictions at a time when climate change has become a major crisis.
Invested in lobbying instead of products
Who Killed the Electric Car is an excellent look at early EV business in North America
Petrol cars go brrrrrr
I still get angry thinking of what happened
I’m curious if the “climate change is a hoax” stuff is as prominent in China as the US. I’ve run into so many people who hate EVs solely because they think climate change is a hoax and EVs are just another way to scam them out of money for a lower quality vehicle… despite any evidence of EVs being better quality
American gasoline cars suck and are more embarrassing than other country's gasoline cars, but Chinese EVs are not at all a viable competitor in the market yet and so far have consistently failed to even gain a foothold for 15 years straight.
If you have any counterargument to that, I'd like to see it.
Governments worldwide should support their auto industries because it’s fundamental to any country’s GDP and future wealth base
I believe this to be the completely wrong approach. Europe shouldn't feel threatened. They should make cars much less important. Europe should be investing in green tech and public transport (buses, metros, trams, trains) so much that the average person doesn't even want a car. That a car is only required for very specific tasks that otherwise cannot be done without other modes of transport.
China could make the best car ever and it wouldn't matter if it cars had a tiny market. But when you read the advice given by car-addicted, car-centric people, then can't think of making cars less important. It goes completely against their beliefs, no matter how much it harms the environment, citizens, and governments. They just want that shiny new car-sized iPhone.
But what are those "very specifc tasks"? And public transportation makes complete sense but how feasable is it to implement in low density areas?
Low density areas are mostly subsidized by high density areas. Good public transport everywhere will probably mean people will be more willing to return to lower density areas.
And specific tasks are things like transporting heavy, cumbersome articles like a fridge, couch, cupboards, and so on. Not something that happens every day. There might be others, but they are most likely limited to a small section of the population or very occasional.
If they aren't cheap, celophane-wrapped, Amazon-style, random-string-of-letters brand, low quality bullshit... Then I will definitely be very interested.
Fuck our oil-worshipping car industry. It deserves to go extinct for intentionally slow-rolling EV releases to prop up the oil industry. Fuck 'em.
This article reads like a terrible puff piece. Wired has really fallen low with a headline and article like this.
No real info, just statements from highly paid execs.
No way Chinese cars would be sold in U.S. or Japan, no idea about EU though. So no, not remotely a threat.
Seriously, this article is garbage.
Yeah, this is basically the stance auto industry execs had until the Chinese EVs actually arrived, and they did get five star safety ratings, and build quality wasn't crap, and then they've collectively had a Blackberry exec seeing the first iPhone moment.
They're really hoping you don't actually test drive one, though. And they'll spend a lot on disinformation to help make that happen.
They're already selling byd, mg and NIU cars in Europe, and Renault/Dacia is selling a rebranded car previously designed for the Chinese market. Teslas for the European market are made in China
Not sure who's buying a byd Atto for 40k in Europe, but indeed the western brands are sleeping on the wheel doing the bare minimum, leaving a large gap on the market
Only Model 3s for the European market are from China. The vast majority sold are Model Ys, and they are made in Germany.
Not sure who's buying a byd Atto for 40k in Europe
Me neither, but I reckon a lot of people will be interested in a BYD seagull for 8k.
I live in Chile 🇨🇱 (South America 🌎), and i can guarantee you that my country has been flooded by Chinese cars in the last year. (Mostly Changan's, followed by BYD and finally Kia)
Plus, our government has made a deal with BYD so that they'll replace all fuel-based public transportation with EVs. 🔌⚡🚌 (Link [in Spanish] down below)
So yeah, there IS a mayor market for China's cheap vehicles (aka developing countries), and i bet that until most vehicles around the planet are EVs, China will be the mayor seller for a few years.
Koa is owned by Hyundai, a South Korean company. But I see your point in the flood of Asian imports.
Uhhhh, sure thing Wired. Now let's see crash test results from these cars and see how those compare with European, Japanese and American vehicles. It's not like Chinese cars have a history of being deathtraps, right?
Hhhmmm... Is 5 Stars on Ncap enough?
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They are, but you would be surprised about how many people don't care about safety and just go for the cheaper choice. 💵
Not really, they are just busy lobbying and promoting troll farms to keep combustion engines and their high maintenance part replacement income going.
Yeah. China can go fuck itself. Not only does the government suck shit, but the culture of the people since the revolution is horrifically selfish and nasty.
Ppfffff hahaha that is ridiculous.
Yes they made videos.
No they have not successfully made an even decent electric car with any range yet in China.
Geez way to spread unsubstantiated propaganda about a product from China with an abysmal track record so far.
I mean... I own a BYD in Australia. It's got 400 km range and it's the cheap, low range model. With a 5 star safety rating.
What was that you were saying about unsubstantiated propaganda?
It looks like you think the Chinese cars are all like that car meme "Alibaba $2000 Chang li"
The byd Atto 3 is comparable in build quality and in range to a Volkswagen id4 while costing 10k less