Even with the new 100% tariff on electric vehicles imported from China, BYD would still have the cheapest EV in the US. According to a new report, BYD’s lowest-priced EV would still undercut all US automakers at under $25,000.
After discontinuing the production of vehicles powered entirely by internal combustion engines in March 2022, BYD has been at the forefront of the industry’s shift to EVs.
Honestly in my opinion it is time to remove all tariffs on EVs under 25k and let anyone who wants to fill that slot in. American car manufacturers refuse to fill the market need.
And we’ve been subsidizing ours too. We just do it differently than straight up handing them money. (Although we’ve done that before too)
The main issue is that China seems to subsidize BYD quite a bit more than other countries do. In addition, this seems to match China’s general policy of finding ways to give its own companies advantages in foreign markets, while limiting the equivalent from other countries
Yes, yes, yes.
But why does the West, which has been technologically ahead the entire time, can’t produce a cheap simple EV?
Like sure, China is propping up their shit maybe more than the West is, but why can’t we get one small inexpensive simple car?
It’s because the so-called “subsidies” from the Chinese government are much more than the “subsidies” wielded by the American government. In America a subsidy amounts to throwing money and tax breaks at corporations and asking them to make something with it - but Chinese subsidies are direct investments, with the government controlling how the money is spent and staying involved every step of the way. That’s why they turn so reliably into increased production and reduced prices while our own subsidies tend to turn into stock buybacks.
There’s really no practical reason why the US couldn’t adopt a similar industrial policy - imagine going to GM/Ford/Chevy and paying them to build new EV factories in Detroit, directly overseeing the whole process from start to finish, and leaving behind government representatives at all levels of the factories’ operation - but the reason we don’t do it is pretty much purely ideological.
Most of the subsidies that article was talking about are actually domestic buyers subsidies.
But wouldn’t that be communism?! We wouldn’t want that! 😱
Lots of reaons but mostly because our cars are built by union members and not literal slaves.
I mean the tech is still new as well as the point that SSJMarx mentioned. To add to the list of reasons to make expensive version of cars first:
I do expect that over time manufactures will begin to release cheaper EVs over time that are aimed for average consumers.
I’m sorry, but that makes 0 sense.
Not everyone can spend 20k, so let’s make 100k cars?
And when China is selling such cheap cars, let’s stop them too, because there is no demand?
There is nothing logical about your arguments.
The reason we stop China is not related to supply and demand so much as stopping companies that China has given unfair advantages to. If BYD was making cars without signifcant Chinese subsidies, then yes I would be bothered by these tariffs as well.
The person who buys $100k cars isn’t going to be shopping in the $20k car market. This $20k EV already exists as the Nissan Leaf and it sells like shit because people don’t really want a stripped-down, barebones car. Teslas’ cheapest cars are twice the price and outsell it by several orders of magnitude.
We’re stopping China from selling cars here because they’re selling $50k cars for $20k which is a big problem for everyone but China.
There is logic to their argument. I think you just don’t understand the situation very well.
Or because they have a long-standing reputation of not surviving for >50k miles? Because they’re literally the only cars without active cooling?
OEMs don’t sell cheap cars anymore because they know people will buy them instead of more expensive cars.