I'd heard about the price war between BYD and Tesla, but I'd never actually seen any of the BYD cars because they're banned in the US. Some influencer imported one and did a review and now I'm pretty sure the ban is the only thing keeping Tesla alive
@malwaretech pretty close race in EV sales in NZ last year between Tesla and BYD, Tesla seems to be the top seller here this year but EV sales are down hugely on last year due to change of government and removal of EV incentives. Personally I'd never but anything Musk is selling, fuck that guy.
@malwaretech "Now that I’ve seen a glimpse of what’s going on in China, the Western manufacturers, particularly the American ones, don’t seem like they’re trying at all." ouch!
@malwaretech I’ve had mine for year and loving it. It has been steadily improving over that time as well. When I first got mine you didn’t see them on the road that much, now I see them all over. Not just a shingle model, but all of the models they sell here.
@malwaretech americans having to block competition in order to compete is a real tell. too bad we can't get the small and affordable e cars most people actually want
@malwaretech I’m pretty sure you’re wrong about that. There’s other manufacturers that are in a lot bigger trouble than Tesla.
There might also soon come an import tax in the EU on Chinese cars due to massive Chinese government subsidies/support.
@malwaretech I don’t think they’re banned. I heard that they’re just tariffed to the point that nobody would want to sell them, but there are BYD commercial vehicles, cargo trucks if I recall correctly.
@malwaretech They tried to make a European affordable electric car #sion#sonomotors here but the project quit. A friend of mine was a paid up supporter but then bought an MG... a Chinese brand. Europe seems not to get it. We need to make stuff that people need and want. And stop doing business with communist dictatorships and any other anti-democratic spying hacking murderous places. What happened to our principles?
@malwaretech I bought one last month. It’s an excellent car! Lots of other options available in India. Tesla is going to have a very hard time here, especially considering the recent QA issues plaguing their cars.
@GossiTheDog Yeah, there is a 30% tariff and no way to get them registered to be driven on the road so you can basically only have one as a track car at best
@malwaretech@GossiTheDog I occasionally see older BYD EVs driving around the antelope valley on manufacturer's plates. There's a BYD electric bus factory out here, so I can't say it's a surprise.
@malwaretech I presume this 'influencer' is also the one extremely falsely claiming that BYD is 'banned' from the US.
This is, point blank, utter bullshit. BYD is banned from the US in the same way the Toyota GR Yaris is banned, which is to say: IT'S FUCKING NOT.
They haven't undergone US certification. Failing to certify is not a goddamn ban.
@malwaretech no, it's ignorant bullshit from people not qualified to wipe their own ass.
Tesla Model 3, Buick Encore GX, and Cadillac Optiq.
Those are all either primarily built in China for US sale or exclusively built in China for US sale. By Chinese majority-owned companies.
So no. They are, as a point of fact, 100% full of shit. China could try to certify. They'd FAIL, but that's the only roadblock. Period.
"Biden’s car tariffs are largely symbolic because Chinese EVs were virtually locked out of the US by tariffs imposed by Donald Trump during his presidency. However, lobby groups have suggested there is a future threat as Beijing seeks to use exports to compensate for the weakness of its domestic economy."
@malwaretech not doing particularly well in the UK. They're pricing at a level where they're not significantly undercutting tesla, the product tech is OK but not competitive, and there isn't much of a dealer network.