undermining regional carmakers
I think the word they’re looking for is in fact “outcompeting.”
Yutaro-Katori-with-butterfly-meme: Is this capitalism?
Outcompeting by having a nation subsidize the cost. Until local manufacturers go out of business because they can’t compete. Then China owns the entire industry she jacks to the price.
It’s like no one has been paying attention.
It’s weird that this has to be explained to Americans - this is how much of Big Tech got to where they are, except they call it “disruption”.
BTW this shows perfectly that free markets are not a be-all-end-all thing. It’s a tool, and if it produces outcomes that you don’t like, you can adjust it for better outcomes. The hypocrisy here is not that they pretend to worship the market then cry foul when China enters it on their terms, but that they do adjust it for their benefit all the time, and only pretend to worship it when people ask for their fair share.
While we’ve seen this cycle play out quite a few times in Big Tech, I think a lot of people just aren’t aware of what it is. I’ve had friends decry how, “Uber is now basically as expensive as a taxi.” I point out how Uber is only recently profitable and see people’s minds get blown.
Lmao there’s a guy who usually posts a long response to these “subsidies” claims bullshit, but I think they got into a pissing match with a mod in the comments and got banned lmao.
Jist of it is: China’s subsidies are negligible compared to the US, and what they’ve actually done is created a competitive domestic market with a large number of players. Unless you think Chinese people are all puppets, even if China (as a country) owns the industry it would not prevent internal competition that drives down prices. Moreover, China does not offer per-unit subsidies on export. In fact, Chinese EVs exported to Europe are something like 40% more expensive than domestically for the same model.
Ah, I see. So it’s cool when we do it (fossil fuel and ag subsidies, the auto industry bailout in 2008, etc.) but not when they do it.
Got it.
You’re introducing an argument as a way to undermine the viewpoint that’s opposite to yours.
No one said it’s fine “when we do it”. That’s not the point being discussed.
The other bigger issue here is that these new cars are coming from a region that has a horrendous track record for safety and quality. EVs when done right are still a considerable risk with battery fires, but the ones manufactured in China are much worse for quality and safety. In the next few years, as these cars flood markets around the world, it will be a massive issue.
