Young Americans want Chinese EVs!

Discussion in 'Environment & Conservation' started by Media_Truth, May 25, 2024.

  1. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    The only Chinese who were buying Western cars 20 years ago were the small handful of wealthy Chinese, and the newly emerging affluent segment of the middle class. Probably for 90% of Chinese (in let's say 1995), there were about as likely to be in the market for a Volkswagen as you or I would be to be in the market for buying a private jet.

    Even for a "typical middle class" Chinese worker in the late 90s, a Volkswagen would have still cost more than twice their annual income.
    (a lot of this having to do with international currency exchange rates)

    The Chinese considered any Western car to be a "luxury" and put an import tax on it, to try to discourage their citizens from buying it, since Chinese government policy was to try to maximize their national surplus in trade, try accumulate wealth in their country, rather than just trade.

    Things have changed since then, but today China is addressing this problem by trying to produce all these Western cars, that will be bought by Chinese consumers, in factories located in China.
     
    Last edited: Jun 8, 2024
  2. Media_Truth

    Media_Truth Well-Known Member Past Donor

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  3. Media_Truth

    Media_Truth Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    And car manufacturers worldwide wanted that 10% of the Chinese population’s business. And they made billions. I would urge you to analyze the profits made.

    That same irrational fear was prevalent in the 1980s, with Japan. End result- the US auto industry got stronger and started making a better product.
     
  4. Melb_muser

    Melb_muser Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Yes and Musk has also been saying the same things as when the left loved him. Or the same rotation of material, because he changes his mind (which is something else that I admire). He simply started talking about free speech.

    And admittedly he has said some dumb/aggressive things that probably you really shouldn't say in public. And probably taking too many drugs and not getting enough sleep... etc.

    Point is, a friend the other day was trying to convince me that Musk has turned into a right-wing maverick. But I just can't see that. He's always hated unions, etc.
    Agreed, except that they are not particularly screwing Chinese Tesla workers (by Chinese standards), lol
    We're going to find out. I can't help think that there wasn't a lot of scrutiny for these junkomobiles to get on the road, either in the US or Australia. It's worth noting at least in Australia that safety standards are about the car veering off the road suddenly or excluding - and not so much falling to bits within six months after warranty expiration.

    If they are good cars then the world will be talking Chinese soon, and the US will have a sign on its borders: "Closed for business".

    Edit: small, funny note. I went to pay for my hotel in Copenhagen just before arriving and they wanted Chinese yen. I called up the company to make sure I wasn't getting defrauded. :)
    The lady that I spoke to was Indian and the guy at the desk when I arrived was Muslim with a beard. None of this bothers me I just think it's kind of funny.
     
    Last edited: Jun 10, 2024
  5. 557

    557 Well-Known Member

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    Yes, the ability to change one’s mind is admirable for sure.

    A lot of folks like Musk are just old school liberals. They can’t always peacefully coexist with modern progressives.

    I think we’ve already lost out to China. We just can’t compete with their cheap labor and their low regulatory costs. We can’t get away with building captive coal smelters etc. We can buy cheap components from them or build stuff there like iPhones and Teslas, but we are still losing. Just more slowly that way.

    The whole world is a melting pot now. Sounds like the whole world was involved in making your stay comfortable!
     
  6. Media_Truth

    Media_Truth Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Stellantis CEO issues stern warning advising against Chinese tariffs. China is especially upset with Europe, and threatening a Trade War. For years, Volkswagen was the leading car brand in China, and they made billions in profit. I think once the US election is over, more common-sense tariffs will be put in place, and we’ll start seeing Chinese cars here.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mar...fs,and affect sales and production in the end.

    Stellantis CEO has stern warning about Chinese EV tariffs, as China plans retaliation

    As per a new report by Bloomberg, Chinese officials signaled that they are prepared to economically retaliate against the Biden administration's tariffs with their own retaliatory tariffs.

    We also noticed that certain countries and regions have taken some restrictive measures in the EV sector, which run counter to the green development concept and violate market economy principles and WTO rules," Liu told Global Times. "Such measures will only hurt the interests of their own consumers and undermine global efforts to promote the green transition and tackle climate change."

     
  7. Jack Hays

    Jack Hays Well-Known Member Donor

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    Nobody seems to want them.
    China EVs are going unsold piling up at ports - Quartz
    upload_2024-6-11_14-40-54.png
    qz.com
    https://qz.com › china-evs-demand-sales-electric-cars-p...

    Apr 17, 2024 — Unsold electric cars are filling storage spaces across shipping hubs, with some automakers even looking to rent extra warehousing space.

    Unsold Chinese EVs Are Piling Up At European Ports
    upload_2024-6-11_14-40-54.png
    CleanTechnica
    https://cleantechnica.com › 2024/04/11 › unsold-chines...

    Apr 11, 2024 — Chinese EVs are coming to Europe in waves but many of them stay parked in port facilities for months waiting for transport inland.
     
  8. Media_Truth

    Media_Truth Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Case closed then. There should be no tariffs in US or Europe, because nobody wants them.
     
  9. Jack Hays

    Jack Hays Well-Known Member Donor

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    I don't believe in tariffs of any kind, so we agree.
    A tariff is a tax on all to benefit a few, like a subsidy.
     

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