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
    386·
    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.

    • 7oo7@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      133·
      6 months ago

      Better doesn’t always mean innovative. How many new innovation have really happened in cars in recent years? Is this years iPhones better than last years? by nominal additions to the package without any real headliner, of course yes. That’s what’s happening.

      The article doesn’t even try to say they’re being innovative and you’re really trying to shoe horn your extreme dislike of the fact they’re ahead.

      • Not_mikey@slrpnk.net
        43·
        6 months ago

        In what ways are they ahead though besides price. A new iPhone has more battery, a camera with more MP, a faster chip etc. These cars have the same or shorter range then they’re competitors, same or slower acceleration, same cargo space, charging speed etc. just cheaper because of the reasons mentioned above.

        When Japanese cars started taking off in the 70s it was because they had way better fuel economy and build quality then anything Detroit was putting out at the time, they were better at those fields. I don’t see any field where these cars are better at besides price.

    • unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de
      71·
      6 months ago

      What i wanna see from china is an offline bare necessities EV that doesnt record and report everything you do to the manufacturer that then sells this data. Most new western and probably chinese cars aswell currently do that stuff.

      I want publicly accessible open source tools for analyzing faults and helping with repair. From other existing open hardware projects coming from china, we know that some companies can do this very well if they want to.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
      51·
      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
    277·
    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.

        • Maggoty@lemmy.world
          1·
          6 months ago

          Volvo and BYD have already said they’re committed to landing their cars here in the 30k-40k range. There has been speculation on whether that means they’re taking a loss or that means they can make them very cheaply but no one thinks they’re unserious about it.

  • FiveMacs@lemmy.ca
    2426·
    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
      28·
      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
        42·
        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.

        • idiomaddict@feddit.de
          21·
          6 months ago

          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.

          That’s close minded as hell. I don’t know enough to disagree with you about this, but suggesting that anyone who disagrees is a paid actor is wild. Lots of people are car fans and have emotional attachments to cars. Downvoting because someone really likes a specific Chinese car seems significantly more likely.

      • IsThisAnAI@lemmy.world
        16·
        6 months ago

        People here don’t want cheap cars. Even if they can’t afford nice shit they’ll buy. You have cheap cars now sitting on lots for months.

    • Maggoty@lemmy.world
      94·
      6 months ago

      They’re already doing consumer report stuff on them and some companies like BYD are scoring high on reliability.