Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2024 April 9

= April 9 =

BYD Seagull
Why are American car manufacturers completely unable to deliver a quality electric car like the BYD Seagull, which China is selling for US $13k and has already produced 200,000 vehicles? I've looked deeply into this problem, and all I see is intentional foot dragging, running out of the clock, and hemming and hawing from US CEOs. There's also an enormous amount of propaganda and disinformation about electric cars and the subcompact model in the US, with car companies seemingly telling the public that nobody wants either an electric car or a subcompact. This is odd, as everyone I know wants exactly that. Furthermore, why is the US market forbidding this car to be sold in the US if, as they claim, "nobody wants it"? This doesn't add up. The US car industry is insistent on telling the public that they must want SUVs and ICE cars, but the facts show an entirely different matter. Viriditas (talk) 22:30, 9 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Maybe something to do with Protectionism. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 03:42, 10 April 2024 (UTC)
 * I mean, the newer Chevy Bolt isn't all that different, except the price is astronomical compared to the BYD Seagull. Why can't the Bolt be made cheaper, as only one example?  Automation has increased, labor has decreased, parts are being mass produced by 3D fabrication, so all the costs should be coming down, not going up. This is the same problem in the American healthcare industry.  Prices should be getting cheaper due to technology and distribution yet they are getting more expensive because of the middlemen. Same thing with many different sectors.  We need government regulation to bring prices down, and that's the one thing that isn't happening in the US. Viriditas (talk) 08:31, 10 April 2024 (UTC)
 * This YouTube video offers the following explanation. In the US, SUVs are classified as "light trucks", which are nor subject to the same safety and emissions standards as compact cars. The US auto industry has been heavily pushing light trucks and SUVs to avoid regulations, meaning more profit. This does not quite explain the disdain for EVs, which should meet the emissions standards, but the safety standards remain an issue. In any case, it is safe to assume that the US auto industry aims to maximize profit and expects profit will suffer from offering a compact or subcompact EV for a normal price. --Lambiam 08:40, 10 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Yeppers, I'm aware of that loophole. It likely is a major reason for the issue, as well as zero political will to fix it. Viriditas (talk) 08:42, 10 April 2024 (UTC)
 * The EPA imposed fuel consumption standards and planned reductions during the Obama Administration, but these were one of a number of environmental measures overturned by the Trump Administration. The Biden Administration has just gotten around to reinstating them this year. Also, one of the reasons that cheap Chinese electric vehicle may not be available in the U.S. is that they may not meet U.S. crash test standards. Xuxl (talk) 14:38, 10 April 2024 (UTC)


 * If it's any consolation, there's a similar issue in Europe where the US-specific problems quoted above don't apply;
 * China is reaping the rewards of backing EVs early with around 80% of automotive batteries made in China... Chinese manufacturers have a head start on economies of scale to get the price of EVs down, and of course it means the most expensive components of European EVs aren’t even made in Europe. New wave of Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers to drive prices down.
 * Alansplodge (talk) 10:02, 11 April 2024 (UTC)