But, will people actually want to buy them?
Prospect of low-priced Chinese EVs reaching US from Mexico poses threat to automakers
It’s a scenario that terrifies America’s auto industry.
Chinese carmakers set up shop in Mexico to exploit North American trade rules. Once in place, they send ultra-low-priced electric vehicles streaming into the United States.
As the Chinese EVs go on sale across the country, America’s homegrown EVs — costing an average of $55,000, roughly double the price of their Chinese counterparts — struggle to compete. Factories close. Workers lose jobs across America’s industrial heartland.
Ultimately, it would all become a painful replay of how government-subsidized Chinese competition devastated American industries from steel to solar equipment over the past quarter-century. This time, it would be electric vehicles, which America’s automakers envision as the core of their business in the coming decades.
Low-priced Chinese EVs pose a potentially “extinction-level event’’ for America’s auto industry, the Alliance for American Manufacturing has warned.
Would Americans want tiny EVs? Perhaps for city only drivers. You wouldn’t really be able to go far in them, and, what of repairs? What of insurance costs? Would they want to spend $27500 for one, when they can get a Civic or Corolla? In reality, a lot of the Chinese EVs for Europe are a lot less expensive, because they are being subsidized by the Chinese government. And virtual slave labor to build them.
Of course, the people trying to force Americans into EVs, despite those Elites not driving them themselves, are happy with this
The threat from Beijing is emerging just as U.S. automakers face slowing EV sales. High prices and a shortage of charging stations are keeping many American consumers away.
Cheap Chinese EVs might help by pushing down prices, accelerating sales and encouraging investment in charging stations. “It would be cheaper just to let the Chinese cars come in, forget all the tariffs and subsidies, let the market figure it out,’’ said Christine McDaniel, a senior research fellow at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center. “Yes, it would be disruptive. But EVs would get on the road in the U.S. a lot faster.”
They want to restrict the working and middle classes from having easy fossil fueled travel by any means, even if it means letting China dominate the market. Though, would they? Further, will they have the safety standards required for the U.S.? People talk about America letting the market decide, but, the market would be skewed by China dumping the vehicles.
Read: Low Cost Chinese EVs Could Cause Problem For Automakers In US Or Something »