Chinese automakers are set to take the top spot in global new vehicle sales for the first time in 2025, knocking Japanese players, which held the position for more than 20 years, to second place.
Japan’s lead over China – which stood at around 8 million units in 2022 – has been erased in just three years.
It literally makes no sense as a consumer to buy otherwise. Whatever moral high ground or technological advantages western companies wanted people to believe they had have vanished in the last 5 years
You think people are buying these because of their technological advantages and not because they’re selling brand new cars for as little as $1000? That’s like arguing Walmart is the biggest retailer in the world because they offer the best quality merchandise and we all know that isn’t true.
I mean, first of all, you misunderstood my comment. I meant that in a car with the same level of technology, safety, and power, the price is a lot more attractive for any consumer to buy Chinese. You’re falling into the same trap that I described assuming that the Chinese vehicles are of a lower quality on average which is completely not the case anymore. Not in technology, not in safety, not even in design in the most recent models.
Second, using the lowest bar for the price of a vehicle is a weird way to gauge world interest in vehicles. There have always been dirt cheap cars with next to no features other than an engine, produced in India or Japan for certain markets. I’m not talking about those in general. For example Chinese automobiles are absolutely dominating the markets in regions like UAE, Saudi, Kuwait, Qatar where the target consumer wouldn’t think twice about paying for a Bentley or any European marque. So I’m not sure what your Walmart analogy was meant to achieve but it falls flat. Trust me I’m the last person that thinks any of these vehicles should be sold in the US, that would decimate our auto industry.
But objectively, if I lived somewhere where the vehicles that were available in the middle east were sold, I wouldn’t think twice about getting a luxurious powerful car for the price of a Camry in the states.
I meant that in a car with the same level of technology, safety, and power, the price is a lot more attractive for any consumer to buy Chinese.
Those low prices are completely artificial though which is the entire root of the issue. They achieve those prices by protectionism over the base minerals, lax environmental regulations, slave labor, and massive government subsidies. These artificially low prices will only last as long as it takes to put everyone else out of business. China does this over and over in so many industries that it should be completely obvious to anyone paying attention.
You’re falling into the same trap that I described assuming that the Chinese vehicles are of a lower quality on average which is completely not the case anymore. Not in technology, not in safety, not even in design in the most recent models.
Second, using the lowest bar for the price of a vehicle is a weird way to gauge world interest in vehicles. There have always been dirt cheap cars with next to no features other than an engine, produced in India or Japan for certain markets. I’m not talking about those in general.
Not at all. I think the $1000 EVs are low quality but this isn’t a blanket statement about everything manufactured in China. I also recognize that consumers on average will choose price over pretty much any other aspect of their purchase which is why companies like Walmart are so successful despite being plagues on society. Additionally, having these insanely cheap vehicles for sale makes it quite easy to boost “sales numbers” when you can sell 20 of something for the same price that your competitor sells one. The article states the average sale price of these vehicles is $14k which isn’t something anyone else in the world can compete against at scale without the same dirty tactics, so its no wonder China is selling higher volumes especially when they have 1.4 billion citizens to sell to.
For example Chinese automobiles are absolutely dominating the markets in regions like UAE, Saudi, Kuwait, Qatar where the target consumer wouldn’t think twice about paying for a Bentley or any European marque.
What percentage of sales does that account for though? Any market whether cars or furniture always has some segment targeting high-end sales. I don’t find it surprising at all that they’re taking that over as these are always the most volatile segments of any market. What do Bentley or Rolls Royce have to offer for a million dollars other than status and brand recognition? Not much.
But objectively, if I lived somewhere where the vehicles that were available in the middle east were sold, I wouldn’t think twice about getting a luxurious powerful car for the price of a Camry in the states.
Which would be a rational decision for pretty much anyone at the individual level but irrational and catastrophic on a macro scale. As I mentioned, these prices are completely artificial and temporary. What may feel like a personal win today will likely lead to devastation later as this is a play at monopolization and domination not generosity and altruism, but most people won’t recognize or acknowledge this and don’t see anything past the ‘unreasonably low price’ bait being dangled in front of their face.
I completely agree with everything you said, it’s an unfortunate situation but unfortunately no government is really equipped to be able to compete against nationalized undercutting. And it’s really a responsibility moreso at that level, rather than at the individual level since everyone around the world these days is getting squeezed financially.
Good job VW, you fucking retards.
The Japanese still have their heads in the sand regarding EVs, it’s not surprising.
Yeah they should definitely toss out the quality and reliability they’re known for and start pumping out $2000 EVs, so that I can buy a new car every year after scrapping the last one and feel good about doing my part to protect the enviromment.
Doesn’t matter how good they make them if they go out of business because they don’t sell what the world wants. Honda and Nissan are already collapsing. Even Toyota has dropped about 4%.
So should they cut quality, cut safety regulations, use slave labor, cut environmental regulations, and dump all their tax dollars into subsidizing your car purchase in order to put themselves on more equal footing with China? You’re advocating for a race to the bottom so that you can consume more cheap junk.
If you want to see the result of beliefs such as yours, we can once again look to Walmart and what it has done to the local economy of every single rural community that it has moved into.
You are missing the point, how about they just make a good EV? BMW seems to be able to build good ones, why can’t the Japanese?
You literally just said “it doesnt matter how good they make them.” If they did have a good EV, you’d complain that it was too expensive. If they cut the cost and quality, you’d complain that it wasn’t worth buying. They can’t beat China at this game without using all the same tricks I mentioned in my previous comment. Nobody in the world can do that.
Why do they need a good EV at this very moment? Worldwide, EVs only make up 20% of new car sales. Their hybrids outsell EVs 3 to 1 here in the US. They’re about to release their solid state batteries and manufacture EVs this coming year with double the range of the current technology. They’ve also been exploring additional alternatives such as hydrogen fuel cells. What’s the rush, exactly? How is that “having their heads buried in the sand?”
Are you arguing that they would be better suited to have dumped tens of billions of dollars trying to “keep up with the Jones’s” by developing the same bleeding edge technology in parallel with everyone else? Would they be kings of the automotive world witn something like the Nissan Leaf in their fleet? I seriously doubt it.
Because it doesn’t matter if they are good or not, if they don’t build ANY was my point. And solid state battery LOL’s, Toyota has been saying that for 10 years.
They do build some- the bZ4x, Murai, and Prius plug-in. See you will complain regardless of what they do.
And solid state battery LOL’s, Toyota has been saying that for 10 years.
They’ve been saying what for 10 years?
But Korea has been smashing it!
While I’ll continue to drive my Tesla, if I were forced to pick one, it’d like be a Korean EV. Europe is still very behind on tech.
Which is ironic given the headstart they had on lithium cells. But making ICE was more profitable so… they keep doing that.
Some think hydrogen is the way to go which is why. I still don’t buy that. It sucks even living here trying to figure out which vehicle to buy when my current one craps out. Electric would be great since I drive only once or twice a week and not long distance save 1-2 trips to see family a year. I don’t want to buy a Chinese EV, but I doubt there will be any remaining options in a few years
Why don’t you want to buy a vehicle just because it originated in China?
A lot of things in your house were made in China. Most western brands manufacture in China, including Apple, Tesla and VW.
Buting a cheap Chinese car, is like buying a coffin.
Hello CIA bot
Hello Chinese bot
Bro fuck off. I have seen people BURN TO DEATH in those coffins on highways after minor crashes. Doors locking themselves, seatbelts getting stuck, poor quality shock absorbers falling off, rust…. Its a COFFIN. Not to mention the aftermarket and serviceshops don’t know what to do with those buckets. China donated EV taxis to Russia, and they are fucked. Nobody knows how to service them, no manuals, atypical parts, no OEM. Just no.
Source?
I’ve talked this over with several representatives of Chinese carmakers present here in Europe. They have confirmed the cars we get here are not the same as in China, and it’s not only tariffs that are driving up their prices—they typically feature a raft of improvements.
From your link, so yeah both of you is right and wrong at the same time. Also there’s like tons of brand from china and all of them aren’t made in equal quality, so of course some are great, some are actually death trap, and some are lemon thats been left in car graveyard to rot.
