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.
keep in mind, at the around 15-25k price, you run into the problem Vinfast has when they introduced themselves to the U.S market. What would an informed buyer rather do: buy a cheap new vehicle or a used premium vehicle. Chevy* backed out of making yearly bolts because demand wasnt high enough, despite the 7500 rebate would bring it down to 22k
If there is no demand, then there is nothing to worry about. Remove the tariffs and let China offer 15k cars here in America.
i do agree, they should be let in just that dont expect those prices. in order to keep a price low they need the supply chain at a local factory in order to match said price, as well as adhere to the saftey standards for vehicles in said country (they arent the same globally). even in countries that has a BYD factory like Thailand do not get the low end prices that you basically only see in China. While id like the doors open, just keep in mind the vehicles sit closer to 17-22k pre local changes and built fully in said country.
A few half way decent 20k cars here would be very helpful.
Why don’t you buy a Bolt or Leaf if you want a 20k EV?
Because those are not good cars. The low range of the Leaf and slow recharge of the Bolt make them impractical.
So not only do you guys want dirt cheap cars but they also need to have all the bells and whistles too? And none of you realize why that isn’t possible apart from some state-financed companies that rely on slave labor and lax environmental laws?
Who’s really being greedy here?
Buyer: I want a small, light weight, reliable vehicle with no frills or excess features, that will get me from point A to point B.
Automotive industry PR: So what you’re saying is that you want bells and whistles? Why don’t you buy radar in the bumper, a distracting touch screen that can’t be used while going over bumps or around corners instead of buttons, heated seats that don’t work without a subscription, heating elements in the steering wheel that occasionally burn you and set your car on fire, heavy sunroofs that leak, heavy electric motors to adjust your seats, heavy electric motors to roll the windows, heavy electric motors in the steering column that will fight you for control of the vehicle, a video game console for a speedometer, more cameras than a paparazzi, and expensive self-driving software the does not work yet but we totally promise that it will Soon™. Also, it will not get you from point A to point B.
Automotive industry when sales are disappointing:
shocked_pikachu.jpg
stick_in_bike_wheel.jpg: “Fucking China!”
Yeah good luck with all that considering they haven’t sold any vehicles, EV, ICE, or otherwise that don’t have at least some of these features in several decades. Even Chinese EVs are going to have these features, so it sounds like you won’t be happy with them either.
Mmmmmmmm nothing has ever gone wrong with letting China do what they want in a country that isn’t china…spycars, cheap builds, crappy workmanship, locking countries into debt traps. I give china zero trust, not like I trust American companies either but we’re already stuck with them. I’d rather not see more garbage here thanks.
As opposed to American spy cars, cheap builds, crappy workmanship? Also do you think the US locks countries in debt traps? All of those things are already here in the US. Chinese made cars are selling like crazy because there is a demand not met by US companies. It would seem to me that the correct step is to force the hand of American companies by importing significantly cheaper EV alternatives. China is subsidizing their ev sales to ramp up production and lower costs through increase in volume.
Will tariffs fix any of these issues?
US companies are only a small fraction of the market here. The tariffs aren’t there to protect US companies, they’re there to protect US manufacturing and the US auto industry which is made up of mostly foreign brands.
I didn’t choose my country, but I’m stuck in it. I’ll trust home over the neighbours first.
You’re one of the servants, not the house owner.
This is the most ‘China bad for no particular reason’ post I’ve ever seen
Good points.
The bolt was insanely popular. Chevy made a claim that wasn’t backed by data and it turned out they were trying to phase it out for the new platform. It was so unpopular that they’re bringing it back.
I don’t think the Bolt was a practical vehicle? You can’t take road trips with it, even across the charger-dense East Coast USA - it won’t get you from Miami to Orlando, or from New York to DC.
Driving it from 80% to 20% charge gives a range of 155 miles, which is decent, but then a fast charging station would need 1.4 hours to charge it back up from 20% to 80%.
budget cars in a nutshel are not practical for long range, which is why theres no demand for it in the US. range is one of the biggest reasons why car companies dont sell new EVs for under 30k for the most part. buyers are too picky about what they want in a budget car so the sales flounder and people wonder why no company even attempts to.
personally people buying budget evs need to either wait for better infrastructure, or be the practical person and rent a vehicle for long distance travel.
people are essentially asking for a car that basically cant exist to exist, hence the real situation is why wpuld someone buy a budget new car when you can buy a used premium car
And even the East Coast is severely lacking on EV infrastructure. The only chargers in my hometown are a pair that they installed with the new elementary school, and those are locked all day because they don’t want random people sitting at an elementary school when there’s kids there. The stupidity of the design aside, the next closest charging station I know of is about 75 miles away.
I’d drive an EV if it was practical, but when you can really only charge them on a self-installed home charger, it really impacts where you can go with them.
This is why electric cars need to be “second car” cheap. I have a super-mega-hauler-SUV because about 4 times a month, I REALLY need one. Every other trip is done in my ancient tiny Honda. Every 10k miles on my Honda at 35mpg it saves me about $1500 in running costs over the SUV. If I could buy an $8k electric runabout it’d be even faster payoff.