this post was submitted on 06 Aug 2024
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If we were smart, we would let the cheap Chinese EVs flood the US market and drive down prices in the US using competition.
So much for the invisible hand of the market I guess. 🤷🏻♂️
The reason Chinese EVs are so cheap is because China subsidizes them immensely. They're basically selling below cost, and expecting private US companies to compete with that impossible price. As long as we allow competitors from other countries in, as well as pushing for electric vehicle usage, the prices will drop. Man companies won't be able to sell gas cars after 2035 in many large states and countries. People would rather buy an older used gas car than a very expensive electric I bet.
I have an ancient ICE car. Like a 2001 Honda. I bought it because it was cheap and the engine good.
But we subsidize the fossil fuel industry and have historically subsidized the auto industry. Why not do it?
I mean, we are with tax credits if they meet certain requirements like assembly in North America, etc.
Which I don't think really any of them do yet.
But the whole situation is fucked. We should have been doing this properly 20 years ago.
sure they do.
https://fueleconomy.gov/feg/tax2023.shtml
Bolts for example qualify and are relatively affordable.
Love my Bolt. Naturally it was discontinued :)
Relatively affordable at twice the price and then some of the cheapest Chinese ev. But sure.
I was addressing your assertion that none qualify for tax credits, which is wrong. but if you want to compare the prices to Chinese EVs, NA EVs aren't produced in china. part of the price is developing production here in the US, which we want to do.
You also have the option of getting a used EV with a smaller tax credit, which is what I did.
Subsidize to include worker rights suppression to include the extreme of state sanctioned slavery.
It's a touch more complicated than that, because China doesn't let their currency float, which makes Chinese products much cheaper in foreign markets, and foreign products more expensive in China, when the Chinese government allows them in.
and we want to support domestic construction of EVs as well.
I agree with you, but people need to stop looking at the economy as a "free market".
Almost every single government are putting restraints on one product or another.
Yes, we want to support domestic construction. We need competition, and we don't need to ship goods across the world as much as we do.
But the market is not free. And that's a good thing.
In order to do that the US government would need to heavily subsidize EVs the way the Chinese government does.
I support this... in my view the Chinese government is putting its money out there in order to get more people into an EV. The US should match their efforts.
You mean the way we previously subsidized the regular auto industry and the supporting fossil fuel industries for... 70-90 years?
And corn, which has been horrible for health in the US. But I guess that doesn't count.
Yep! Gotta have corn, come get your corn, high fructose time!
i’m not sure heavy subsidization would work the same way in the US. We’ve already seen EV manufacturers adjust their prices based on available tax credits, so i feel like they’d just raise prices even more as subsidies increase. in china the govt can ensure this doesn’t happen.
Why should US gov not be able to force prizes below a curtain threshold? They just have to vote in the gov, but they can. Not?
It's not a matter of should or could, it's just not something that's going to happen. The vast majority of Americans don't want the government directly meddling with business models to that degree.