I see BYD cars on the street in Mexico. Some are all-electric.
They look great.
They aren't available in the USA. Not yet.
There is nothing objectively exotic or special about BYD branded cars except that they are incredibly inexpensive in China, and rather inexpensive in Mexico, and that they are not sold in the USA.
I remember the excitement I felt back in the mid-1970s when I would travel 30 miles across the border to California. Coors beer was legal in California but not in Oregon. I would buy a case of Coors beer to put into the trunk of the car, being careful in the supermarket parking lot not to draw attention to myself, in case an Oregon Liquor Control person was stationed in California, ready to call into an Oregon state trooper waiting to intercept me. There was something about the fact that Coors beer -- brewed by non-union workers -- wasn't pasteurized. Unions in Oregon got the Oregon legislature to ban non-pasteurized beer, targeting the non-union brand. The Coors people insisted that heating their beer would detract from the taste so they wouldn't change the formula to sell in Oregon.
Maybe Coors really did taste better. We certainly imagined so. Friends shared my excitement at being served it. Coors!! Wow!! The law changed. Coors is sold alongside every other brand now, and I realize it tastes like Bud Lite or rainwater.
BYD cars aren't sold in the USA. By the time these Chinese cars, some of which sell for well under $15,000 in China, get to Mexico, what with tariffs and Mexican excise taxes, they are still less expensive than Korean brands like Kia. They are nice cars at a very good value. Here is a bad photo complicated by streaks of reflected light from outside. They have all the features of a well-appointed modern car.
BYD will be a formidable competitor to other manufacturers, including Tesla. An Uber driver who drives one raves about it. They are selling far more electric cars than is Tesla.
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| BEV: Battery Electric Car Sales |
Trump and Congress, fearing Musk and hoping to preserve the U.S. auto industry, may place extraordinary tariffs onto BYD cars. I expect that. But I expect the lure of better quality and lower prices will cause the barriers to break through eventually. If BYD cars are in Mexico, it will be hard to keep U.S. buyers from noticing, seeing the pricing, and wanting the same. Borders succumb to pressure.
BYD sales in the U.S. will be a test of Musk's influence.
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5 comments:
Speaking of Elon Musk, those pesky “elites” were supposedly among the culture war issues that drove people to make the sociopath president again. By December, our molester-in-chief had invited 13 other billionaires into his administration. And some say the voters aren’t stupid.
Politics aside, the difference between cars and your beer example is that cars require a more complex and expensive dealer and service infrastructure to support their products. EVs admittedly are lower maintenance than ICE (internal combustion engine) cars. My Hyundai Kona EV has 40k miles and my only “maintenance” has been new tires. With regenerative braking even my brakes are barely worn. Americans expect exceptionally high personal service and it remains to be seen if China can compete like that here.
Mr. Sage, let me agree with you that Mr. Musk is a great threat to American democracy. You compare that threat to that of Chinese workers at BYD. I will accept that they are not a great threat to our democracy, although I have no other information other than your analysis.
I think you should compare those in similar situations; the workers at BYD and the workers at Tesla. According to an October 30, 2024 report, Tesla workers had contributed $42.3K to Republicans and $159K to Democrats. By the way, the figures were similar at SpaceX and X.
In the 1930's when Henry Ford was at his pro-Nazi, anti-Semitic heights, Americans were buying those great Model A's coming out of his factory. Franklin Roosevelt loved his 1936 Ford which he had equipped specially so he could drive it around his Hyde Park property.
I think it appropriate that when you think of BYD you think of its workers who have good jobs in the Chinese economy. When I think of Tesla, I think of John and Maria who have good jobs there and are able to provide well for their three children.
And, based on the data, they are likely to be contributing to Democratic candidates.
Our elites really screwed up, allowing China to become the manufacturing center of the world. It’s time to unscrew that.
Yes, let's put them in charge of the government. That should do it.
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