by ericmay | 2025-05-05 13:49:57+00:00
In light of so many things going on in the world, I thought this was a rather interesting article and wanted to point out a couple of quotes that are humorous to me.

Before I do, I want to mention that part of the equation for why cars cost so much money in the United States is that there is no competition for most Americans. It's not that there are not a lot of different automakers, it's that if you want to forgo a car because of the cost, say $30,000 or $50,000 or more, you cannot function very well in society including in all major US metro areas save a few select locations (NYC, Chicago, parts of other cities).

So what this results in is that automakers can basically get away with anything in terms of pricing or features, and citizens can't say "nah I'm not paying for that" like we can with so many other products and services in our daily life, even if sometimes it's painful to do so.

Now there's certainly a lot to be said for labor cost and such as well. I'm not claiming that the lack of sidewalks, bike lanes, trams, trains, and more are the sole reason for higher costs in the United States, but when you take into account the total costs we're paying across the board to maintain our car-centric method of transportation it's quite a bit. Many may be happy to pay that, but it would be nice if they'd stop complaining about it too (gas prices, new car prices, etc.).

Now, there were a few select quotes that I cherry-picked from the article that I thought were amusing in light of tariffs and such.

Most Chinese buyers these days are buying a local brand. Some, such as BYD, have begun to gain international recognition, but the malls are filled with dealers that offer brands virtually unknown abroad—Zeekr, Lynk & Co, Aion, Aito and many more.

Is it ok that other countries buy products native to their country and enact protectionist policies that make that more economically feasible? Hmm.

Because of customer demand, even the low-end models come with advanced driver-assistance software.

Competition, not just between car makers, but also competition with transportation alternatives enables this to the benefit of citizens.

Tesla is better-positioned than other American automakers to compete in China, since its models have always been all-electric and it makes the vehicles in Shanghai with Chinese batteries.

Made in China. Wonder why Tesla had to open its factories in China?

Toyota said its bZ3X—the recently introduced model that starts at $15,000—was designed in China by the company’s engineers in the country, who worked with a local joint-venture partner. It is made in Guangzhou with Chinese batteries and driver-assistance software from Momenta, a Chinese leader in that field. “This couldn’t happen without a Chinese supply chain,” said Masahiko Maeda, head of Toyota’s Asia business. “Unless you localize, it’s out of the question.”

Interesting. So vehicles made in China, by Chinese people, with a localized supply chain that makes it possible.

Like other foreign automakers, Toyota needed a jolt in its China business after local rivals surged in recent years. Still, it retains a market share near 10%.

This is an interesting protectionist and mercantilist style policy.