maybe if they hadn't spent 30 years marketing SUVs, gender-affirming trucks, and shitting on early contemporary electrification efforts they'd have more of a market for light, affordable electric family cars and kei trucks.
If the Chinese EV makers can get their econocars into the US market, the demand will probably surprise folks. Unfortunately the regulatory capture will likely prevent that for years to come. I'm more interested in e-assist cargo bikes since those are somewhat available in comparison.
An EV mini pickup camper or van would've sweet though.
An EV mini pickup camper or van would've sweet though.
I'm pretty serious though, it's obvious for anyone with more than two brain cells that wagons/estates/familiales are the superior EV platform. Longer wheelbase means extra space for the battery skateboard, lower profile means reduced drag and increased efficiency. It's a fucking no-brainer. Let alone the fact that they are superior vehicles in terms of utility. I have what I'd describe as a wagonette, and it has load more trunk space than most SUVs, and plenty of leg and head room even for full grown adults in the back seat.
gender-affirming trucks
Skill issue
Is this an issue with EVs or is it just that everyone's fucking broke in the states?
The north American car culture is a fucking disease. People think "oh we thought about an EV but what if I want to do a road trip and also haul a load of rocks at the same time" and think that a big chud truck is the only answer. It's unimaginable for these chud dinosaurs to have to charge a car twice in a long day of driving or to just rent a vehicle for the 3 road trips they do a decade.
In contrast, car culture in China is not an integral part of being a masculine beef eating shit face, so consumers see a dirt cheap car that is more than capable of doing 99% of trips, and then for the 1% remaining they get on the goddamn train.
Americans just want the big SUV because of their insecurities, and use those “but what about those 1-2 trips to Home Depot I make every year” excuse as justification, because they don’t want to admit they’re insecure.
Part of the reason is probably that China has affordable EVs like the BYD Seagull and the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV
Wuling Hongguang Mini EV
omg, what a little enchanter.
All the best stuff's made in China
Its a few things. The American companies just want to make fucking trucks and SUVs (which are expensive and heavy), there is a lack of charging infrastructure, and because the US is so much more car focused the smaller, lower range, but much cheaper EVs that are becoming quite popular in China are not as useful in the US.
Well, from the perspective of someone who lives in a rural part of the US, lack of infrastructure, the people who drive them tend to make the fact they drive an EV their personality trait, because of point 1 the people who buy them out here are certainly well off.
Also when they inevitably break down, you'd have to go way out of your way to find someone that even can attempt to repair it, unless you really want to learn a lot about being an electrician.
This is being overtly simplistic, but a lot of it is more often logistical than anything else at least out in rural america.
EVs aren't working
"Yeah, between the difficulty getting battery materials and non-renewable electricity generation they probably aren't having much impact as a solution for climate change."
"WTF are you talking about, we just mean no one is buying them."
"For the reasons I gave?"
"lol no, because they just want a gas car"
Anyone else remember Michael Moore's documentary on who killed the electric car? Those things were awesome and they just stole them all, to rot in a parking lot
The 50-60k yuppie market for EV is saturated.
Would be nice if they could make sub 30k EV and would be nice if they set up the infrastructure to allow people who live in apartments to charge their goddamn car.
There isn't a single electric car on the market right now with an MSRP under $25k. There's only 1 model that's under $25k with the tax credit.
TBF, are there even ICE cars under $25K? A base model Corolla is $23K or something
I think the Nissan Versa and Kia Rio are the only sub-$20k new cars left now that the Mitsubishi Mirage and Honda Fit are discontinued in the US.
What's insane to me is that these cheap compact cars are actually among the worst-selling in the US. The Ram, Silverado and F-150 each sell literally 20 to 30 times better.
Oh yeah I forgot about the Versa.
The Yaris also got discontinued.
Inflation is nuts. Last time I was buying a car was in 2011, and I remember seeing new Mazda3s for like $13-$16k.
Vanishingly few. There are still Nissans and Kias for under $20k.
Shocker: people can't afford a $50,000 SUV during a recession, and that's the only EV any manufacturer wants to sell in North America.
I would buy a byd seagull in a second.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BYD_Seagull
A recent innovation is the use of the sodium-ion battery technology, which is lithium- and cobalt-free, less mining-dependent and has a lower theoretical manufacturing cost. BYD has announced to use sodium-ion batteries in future batches of the Seagull as one of the first three cars in its fleet to do so.
Oh well, there goes that big dream of generating a fortune massacring people for their lithium.
Imagine if your options when buying an EV were like 20 different massive SUVs that all cost house money, and then like 3 hatchbacks at $30,000, and then a $9000 hatchback that matches the $30,000 ones spec-for-spec. The $9000 hatchback is the only one produced at a profit to its manufacturer.
China could permanently dominate the US car market instantly if it was allowed to compete.
When you've got 1.4B people inside your borders, there is plenty of opportunity to compete. That said, there's still a certain prestige culture in China where people will import an enormous SUV at a 50% markup over what Americans are paying, just so they can look wealthy.
I've seen more than a few Chinese Born Americans who are totally bought in on the idea that a Lincoln Navigator is the cornerstone of the American Dream. Also, more than a few that consider getting a $30k for $9k the only sensible way to live. But there's tons of prestige porn even on the mainland that continues to erode the ethics and corrupt the ideology of folks living in the beating heart of Red China.
They just salty because the profit margins are lower than ICE vehicles. Many of the legacy automakers will fold as BYD and Tesla take most of the EV market share, they're the only ones producing EVs profitably and at scale.
Doesn't most of Tesla's profit margin come from selling regulatory credits to other car companies.
Yes. Their actual EV production is far from profitable. They just fudge the numbers by selling credits.
From a random source a found from searching (referring to Q1 2022):
Tesla’s regulatory carbon credit sales account for over 20% of its profits this quarter.
https://carboncredits.com/tesla-regulatory-carbon-credit-sales-jumps-116/
We've tried nothing and we're all out of ideas!
Guys, no need to worry, I have the solution to this crisis: Another SUV that costs 130k$.
Please remember to upbear so I can be the next nobel prize winner.
but is it 16 feet tall?
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