American EV makers are reluctant to compete with Chinese companies because “they’re not ready,” Stella Li, chief executive of BYD Americas, told NBC News in an exclusive interview.
The problem is that $10-$15k Chinese EVs aren’t competition as the Chinese government is paying the company directly for them to be that cheap. That’s in comparison to a country where the best companies get is a $7500 credit toward their purchase. I would absolutely support Chinese EVs in the US if they weren’t trying to undercut everyone with unsustainable subsidies just to put everyone else out of business.
Yeah, this is the Chinese government’s go-to plan at this point: fund copycat industries, subsidize the crap out of them, and use those subsidies until there’s a global monopoly share and a field of dead competitors that couldn’t match the subsidies.
Cell phones, major appliance manufacturing, solar panels… If we didn’t learn the lesson before EVs, that’s on us.
That said, not a lot of sympathy for the US auto companies’ complacency. They’ve known EVs were the future for years, and there’s no reason we shouldn’t have options at every price point.
The problem is that $10-$15k Chinese EVs aren’t competition as the Chinese government is paying the company directly for them to be that cheap. That’s in comparison to a country where the best companies get is a $7500 credit toward their purchase. I would absolutely support Chinese EVs in the US if they weren’t trying to undercut everyone with unsustainable subsidies just to put everyone else out of business.
I am pretty sure there are subsidies/grants/loans for auto companies under other governments too.
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/us-offers-12-billion-automakers-suppliers-make-advanced-vehicles-2023-08-31/
Yeah, this is the Chinese government’s go-to plan at this point: fund copycat industries, subsidize the crap out of them, and use those subsidies until there’s a global monopoly share and a field of dead competitors that couldn’t match the subsidies.
Cell phones, major appliance manufacturing, solar panels… If we didn’t learn the lesson before EVs, that’s on us.
That said, not a lot of sympathy for the US auto companies’ complacency. They’ve known EVs were the future for years, and there’s no reason we shouldn’t have options at every price point.