Led by the automaker BYD, China has established itself as the main car supplier in Mexico. The US worries China could use Mexico as a “back door” to sidestep tariffs and gain footing in the US market.

Foreign investment would be an economic boost for Mexico. The company has claimed that a plant there would create about 10,000 jobs. A Tesla competitor, BYD markets its Dolphin Mini model in Mexico for about 398,800 pesos—about $21,300 dollars—a little more than half the price of the cheapest Tesla model.

    • catloaf@lemm.eeEnglish
      21·
      4 months ago

      Is it a better product? How is the quality, the maintainability? How do they treat the environment and their workers? These are all factors I think about when considering a purchase.

      • eskimofry@lemmy.worldEnglish
        10·
        4 months ago

        Why won’t the Americans let in the chinese manufacturers to find out? Surely if the cars are trash they have nothing to worry about?

        • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
          6·
          4 months ago

          I mean, it’s not what OP was arguing, but the main reason they don’t want the cars let in is just to stop China from becoming more powerful. It has little to do with the products themselves.

          • proleEnglish
            5·
            4 months ago

            Surely if the products were shit, then there would be nothing to worry about with respect to China’s power. No?

            • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
              4·
              4 months ago

              If they’re shit today, they probably won’t be tomorrow. They’re just as capable of bootstrapping as the next person.

              Back in the 90’s Clinton was quoted as saying that with capitalism and development, democracy would inevitably follow in China; trying to stop it would be like nailing jello to a wall. Nobody thinks that way anymore.

              • proleEnglish
                1·
                4 months ago

                I don’t really understand your point… I wasn’t making any comment about democracy in China. That’s absurd.

                • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
                  2·
                  4 months ago

                  To clarify, the reason China was allowed to gain that amount of economic influence in the first place was because it was thought they’d be part of the democratic West. Without that, nobody wants an authoritarian superpower.

        • catloaf@lemm.eeEnglish
          6·
          4 months ago

          That’s the thing about economics. Humans are not rational actors. And even if they were, they don’t have perfect information.

          For example, there’s a thing going around in the US right now about raw milk. It’s not allowed to be sold because of the risk of disease. But people are idiots and seek it out anyway, and get themselves sick.

          For cars, assume one of them is an absolute lemon and deathtrap. It constantly needs maintenance, and if you get in a crash, you die. You won’t know about the former until a few years after you’ve bought it, and if the latter happens, you can’t seek any recourse because you’re dead.

          Now, I’m not saying that this applies to the Chinese EVs, exactly, but we haven’t seen them shaken out in the US yet, and China doesn’t have a very good track record with consumer safety in the recent past.

          • Aceticon@lemmy.worldEnglish
            9·
            4 months ago

            To counter those vague negative “maybes” of yours, I just want to point out that the EU, which have much more tight regulations on just about everything than the US, especially when it comes to consumer protection, allows the sale of BDY cars.

            If a regulatory regime which is more strict when it comes to consumer protection than the US allows such cars to be sold, then claiming or implying that the reason for the US to block their sale there is that they might be dangerous is quite the flight of fantasy.

      • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
        8·
        4 months ago

        Is it a better product? How is the quality, the maintainability?

        I’m guessing it’s like 80% as good for half the cost. That’s usually how it goes with Chinese stuff.

        How do they treat the environment and their workers?

        Now that’s just commie talk. /s

        • naturalgasbad@lemmy.caEnglish
          1·
          4 months ago

          The Teslas from Shanghai are straight up better than the ones from Fremont… And if we’re being honest Shanghai probably has better quality of life than San Jose.

          • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
            3·
            4 months ago

            Teslas are anomalously bad to start with, so I can’t write that possibility off. I would definitely buy BYD before Tesla just as a consumer.

            Shanghai being better than San Jose seems unlikely, though. America is definitely a lot richer, despite the warts.

            • naturalgasbad@lemmy.caEnglish
              2·
              4 months ago

              Wealth does not necessarily improve quality of life.

              Notably, electricity (among other things) is substantially cheaper in Shanghai.

              • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
                2·
                4 months ago

                On an individual level, sure there’s sad rich people, and happy slum refugees. On a population level it makes a huge difference.

      • RatherBeMTB@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        6·
        4 months ago

        It is much better. US car brands look like they are stuck in the 90s. Still, I don’t get the preoccupation from the US, almost all cars in Mexico have been from Asia for at least a decade or maybe more. And before that it was all Volkswagen.

      • naturalgasbad@lemmy.caEnglish
        4·
        4 months ago

        In Canada, Teslas from Shanghai are by far preferable to the ones from Fremont. Something about those Chinese factories man

      • proleEnglish
        3·
        4 months ago

        Don’t get upset when capitalists beat you at your own game. Does it matter if it’s better if we’re talking about a “free market” (lol)? It’s not like capitalists in the US give a shit.

    • ms.lane@lemmy.worldEnglish
      15·
      4 months ago

      I was going to say something about Chinese vehicles not entirely being the greatest quality, but then I remembered we’re comparing it to American vehicles.

      Better product, half the cost. Can’t go wrong.

  • Beaver@lemmy.caEnglish
    22·
    4 months ago

    The west needs to take the hint and ditch the fossil fuels and legacy automaker excuses.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldMEnglish
    16·
    4 months ago

    China Conquers Mexico

    …’s Automotive Market, and the US Is Worried

    Give me a heart attack this morning, why don’t you?

  • Doom@ttrpg.networkEnglish
    10·
    4 months ago

    Lol capitalists are stuck with cars and malls and dozens of dying industries they gon have a bad 30 years as new infrastructure becomes a necessity

  • proleEnglish
    7·
    4 months ago

    When can I buy one of these cheap Chinese EVs?

  • naturalgasbad@lemmy.caEnglish
    4·
    4 months ago

    To get an idea of margins:

    The BYD Seagull sells under the Dolphin Mini name in South America. The Seagull (see specs) is the BYD’s cheapest electric car launched in April last year. Its price range initially lay between 78,800 – 95,800 yuan (10,850 – 13,200 USD)