• ShepherdPie@midwest.social
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    2 months ago

    Allowing China to sell these vehicles here at well below cost is only going to shaft poor Americans even further. They’re trying to do what Walmart does to small-town economies.

    • hark@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      You give a great example because the US has no problem with shafting poor Americans if it’s American companies (i.e. big donors to American politicians) doing the shafting. At least we’d get affordable vehicles from these Chinese companies. Meanwhile the complacent American auto companies have engorged themselves on profits from overpriced vehicles, announcing record-breaking profits, and refusing to reduce prices even when supply chain issues have been worked out. This is after American auto companies sat around with their thumbs up their asses, dragging their heels on developing electric vehicles, and even working against the development of them. Now they’re claiming that demand for EVs isn’t actually all that great, but for some reason they’re afraid of Chinese EVs (probably because the Chinese are giving customers what they actually want – affordable practical EVs).

      These leeches needed to be bailed out and they will forever need to be bailed out because instead of running a business that gives people what they want, they just do whatever can extract the most money out of people while squandering the profits on stock buybacks and fat bonuses for their executives. They’re considered too big to fail, but really they’re too big to exist.

      • ShepherdPie@midwest.social
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        2 months ago

        You can make up dastardly schemes to explain the prices all you want but this isn’t borne out in reality. The bigger EV manufacturers here, outside of Tesla, aren’t even American companies, they’re South Korean and European and they’re all selling their vehicles for similar prices to American companies. Tesla seems to be doing pretty well with sales, which means plenty of people are willing to pay these prices.

        Additionally, apart from Tesla, there are only two American auto companies, GM and Ford, so I don’t know why you think they’re controlling the entire auto industry in the US.

    • Bartsbigbugbag@lemmy.ml
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      2 months ago

      Chinese EV companies are rather profitable, with BYD making billions of yuan profit last year. On the other hand, Rivian is losing, what was it, just about $40,000 per car?

      • ShepherdPie@midwest.social
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        2 months ago

        And that profit is coming straight from the government as there is no way they’re making billions in profit by selling brand new cars for $10k in 2024. There is zero margin there.

        • Bartsbigbugbag@lemmy.ml
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          2 months ago

          They have cars from $10k to $200+k. BYD includes a bunch of brands, including the Yangwang brand which builds the $150k U8 and the $230k U9. Not to mention their busses which are used around the world.

          • ShepherdPie@midwest.social
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            2 months ago

            Cool but I don’t see how that’s relevant to the discussion of them trying to sell $10k EVs in the US.

            Nobody here is arguing to buy a $230,000 Chinese EV.