China fact of the day: <a href="https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2023/09/china-fact-of-the-day-72.html" rel="nofollow">https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2023/09/ch...</a><p>Notice how this hockey stick growth started shortly after February 2022, i.e. is a direct result of Western sanctions on Russia: <a href="https://x.com/brad_setser/status/1670842577862508556?s=46" rel="nofollow">https://x.com/brad_setser/status/1670842577862508556?s=46</a><p>edit: Chinese customs data shows during the first 11 months of 2023, China's vehicle shipments to Russia soared 545% from a year ago, to 840,000 units, making it China's fastest-growing market. New energy vehicles (NEVs), such as hybrids and electric vehicles (EVs), were also fueling the record production and exports”.<p><a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/russian-market-evs-give-china-fuel-to-pass-japan-as-top-car-exporter-/7438398.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.voanews.com/a/russian-market-evs-give-china-fuel...</a>
I'm still skeptical. Let's wait for a few years and see how the quality, after market and customer support really is. In my experience, that's not a strong-suit of chinese brands.
I just want a normal car with buttons and knobs. New at <= $10,000. I dont need power windows. I dont need backup cameras. I dont need infotainment.<p>Tons of people I know buy beaters from 20+ years ago because thats all they can afford, but would rather buy a new cheapo thing if it existed.<p>There is a massive untapped market for cheap vehicles. nobody serving that market.
A family member got a BYD Dolphin recently and it seems really nice. Not quite as chic and Apple-esque as a Tesla but heaps of cool features, surprisingly quick for a non-sports model, gets better range than advertised. Given the price relative to other similar vehicles I'm not surprised they're selling like hot cakes.
This is what they get for investing in anti-EV FUD instead of investing in EVs.<p>It’s also what they get for enshittifying cars. China might sell me the car I want: simple, ultra reliable, long range, no infotainment system, no tracking, no subscriptions, no attempts to foist software on me, and made of standard parts making it cheap to repair. Just a motor, battery, wheels, and basic car comforts.<p>I don’t want to see China win this one but I’ve felt it coming for a while.
The article has a click bait title and then opens up with how fast the Chinese electric cars are compared to high end gas cars. Like, that's a core property of electric cars, nothing to do with incredible innovations in China...
I don't know what the economist is saying because paywall, but the proud western * auto industry with hundreds of years of tradition combined should work on reducing prices instead of on super premium electric cars.<p>* and Japanese. What are you thinking with those PHEV Rav prices, Toyota?