Faster adoption of EVs is part of the reason. Cheaper cars avoid incentives, EU makers will have to catch up to Chinese producers.
Might seem odd, but going backwards to stop mass EV adoption is dumber in the long run. The USA policy is putting them even further behind.
Re: How the EU Hands Its Auto Sector to China
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2025 8:06 pm
by al_keda
I've been writing that for a while now. Chinese cars are just better. Cheaper, simpler, easier to repair. Cheaper to own. The more the US tries to protect the big 3, the more they fall behind because they don't have to compete.
Munroe tore down a BVD Shark 6, a hybrid small truck. They found it to be overbuilt, and Electric Viking suggests that they are coming for the F-150 market with a cheaper but equally capable vehicle. Even with 100% tariffs, its still a good deal. I'd buy one if I could figure out how to import one from Mexico.
The EU is no different. BMW tried to pretend that EVs weren't the future, like Nissan did. So they had to throw an electric motor in the ICE vehicles and call it done to try to compete. That turns out to be crap, evs and ICE are very different. Now the German car makers are getting eaten alive by Chinese manufacturers, and Nissan is on the verge of bankruptcy. VW used to own the Chinese market, but can't give their EVs away. Volvo is Chinese now for a good reason.