Sky's Ed Conway explains how the rest of the world was caught napping in the electric vehicle race, which means our car prices and auto industry jobs are within China's grip.

Summary

China has become the world’s largest car exporter by dominating electric vehicle (EV) production, surpassing traditional carmakers in Europe, Japan, and the U.S.

This shift stems from China’s heavy investment in battery technology, supply chains, and generous subsidies, enabling it to produce cheaper EVs, like the BYD Seal, compared to Western competitors.

Europe and America, reliant on outdated internal combustion engine expertise, have struggled to adapt to this disruptive innovation.

Many nations are imposing tariffs on Chinese EVs, but without robust domestic battery infrastructure, Western car industries face mounting challenges as the EV transition accelerates.

  • elucubra@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    82·
    4 days ago

    One thing about the Chinese push: The quality is not there. A friend has a BYD. I had a chance to take a really good look at it. Things like primer showing in certain areas. The manufacture appears rushed. She also had the infotainment controls fail, and the dealer is dragging their feet to repair under warranty.

    China can make quality stuff, but it appears that in this case they are pushing price at all costs. Maybe they will improve quality as time goes on, but right now I wouldn’t buy. There are some decent options in Europe. Renault is doing a decent job. The R5 electric range is not great, but Ibelieve they start at under 25000 Euro.

    Maybe western and Japanese finally will get their act together, out of sheer terror, and pose a real challenge to the Chinese.

    A major problem is that Western and Japanese makers are decades or even over a century old, and work in an incremental, not disruptive fashion. Changing that mentality is hard.