cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/15089465
Americans Are Open To Cheap Chinese Cars. That’s ‘Scary’ For The Rest Of The Auto Industry
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/15089465
Americans Are Open To Cheap Chinese Cars. That’s ‘Scary’ For The Rest Of The Auto Industry
No, I see the same thing. There’s all this kerfluffle about Chinese companies taking over another industry, and healthy doses of Sinophobia, and all I see is everyone else throwing the opportunity away.
We’ve needed and been able to produce affordable useful EVs for over a decade now. Did they come from legacy manufacturers? No. Tesla burst on the scene and proved it could be done: did legacy manufacturers jump on that bandwagon? No. Tesla stock valuation skyrocketed above the stock of all legacy manufacturers combined: did they see the future? Lip service, announcements, misinformation. Legacy manufacturers finally get started, with huge PR machines and precious few products, all way overpriced, US government throws in big incentives, but still: way too few, way too expensive, way too much resistance. Now Chinese companies are flooding out affordable practical products, us legacy manufacturers hide behind their protectionist barriers, but instead of taking advantage of the reprieve, just backtrack, hide, run back into the closet. In four years the incentives and protectionism will disappear and we’ll be left with legacy manufacturers holding onto their last few customers for ICE pickups while companies like BYD will have carpeted the world with affordable practical EVs