Chinese cars have been in the news lately, as they — to many — represent a threat to the American auto industry. At the same time, they represent a potential relief in what many see as an overly expensive EV landscape, and thus a way to potentially get more people to give up gas guzzlers […]
  • Not_mikey@slrpnk.net
    1·
    6 months ago

    Doesn’t seem like they’re making better cars, the most innovative things he points out is a funky gear shifter… But that they’re making them more cheaply. That doesn’t seem to be because of any production innovation or finding some hidden efficiency that western companies overlooked, moreso heavy subsidies and state support combined with a cheap labor market. Hopefully this competition makes the west adopt the former and not the latter, but considering the current political environment we’ll probably end up with the reverse.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
      0·
      6 months ago

      the most innovative things he points out is a funky gear shifter…

      It looks like the article is focused on the myriad styles and scopes of new EVs, production of which remains a struggle for the industry at large.

      Once the 1980s-era Joint Ventures strategy broke down, a number of independent Chinese automakers began introducing their own models. And the end result appears to be a car industry in China more akin to the pre-mega-merger US Automotive industry.

      That doesn’t seem to be because of any production innovation or finding some hidden efficiency that western companies overlooked

      The number of small-sized vehicles is notable. American Big Three car companies have all but given up making coups and sedans, in favor of SUVs and trucks. Toyota’s execs aren’t interested in full EV power train vehicles, leaving that market to Hyundai, Nissan, and whatever’s happening at Tesla.

      This isn’t radical innovation of the concept car so much as it is radical entrepreneurial in the country where you’d least expect it.

  • Plopp@lemmy.world
    0·
    6 months ago

    OP, how much is China paying you to post articles on how good Chinese technology is and how well it’s doing? Your post history is… fascinating.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
      0·
      6 months ago

      Be a car enthusist

      Discover new kind of foreign car

      Geek out over it

      Get $200 from that country’s government

      Lather, rinse, repeat

      Buy a McLaren.

  • FiveMacs@lemmy.ca
    01·
    6 months ago

    Don’t chinese EVs catch fire more then the west?

    Also given China’s track record for reliability and quality, I’d say this entire topic is just misleading and false. Driving something for a week is NOT the same as owning it for 5 years. High chance the cars do not last the length of the loan.

    You seem…yeah…added to the list.

    • Onii-Chan@kbin.social
      1·
      6 months ago

      We have a shitload of Chinese cars on the roads here in Australia, and you see them pop up for sale only a few years after being bought brand new at extreme discounts for a reason; they’re cheaply built pieces of shit that aren’t reliable and lure buyers in with fancy aesthetics and tech. I drive a 2010 Japanese import Toyota Crown, and it’ll outlast any of these Chinese made cars.

      China is trying to get a foothold in the west, and they’re using cheap vehicles as part of that strategy during a cost of living crisis. It’s a smart strategy, admittedly, because the downsides won’t be apparent to the average person for a long time. The US really should be helping reduce the price tag on domestically produced cars if they want to stem the flow of Chinese EV’s hitting the roads, but the government and automakers seem to be averse to that. People without money are going to pick what they can afford, for better or for worse…

      • FiveMacs@lemmy.ca
        02·
        6 months ago

        This is exactly my point. They might make something that looks good comparable to anywhere else, but the quality is trash and can easily be dangerous. They care even less then ‘the west’.

        The downvotes on my comments I’m assuming are paid actors to push some agenda that China cars are good when the reality is the literal opposite.

        People aren’t dumb, they know China’s shit standards.