Anyone with a brain would think it twice before riding a chinese vehicle anyways 🧠🚗
Personal anecdote. I have recently been in China, specifically Shenzhen and a couple of other southern megacities.
Let me tell you all something: China is getting ahead of us. Shenzhen used to be known for its smokestacks. It is now at least as pleasant as any European city. Not only does it have an excellent metro, loads of green space and trees, wide sidewalks and cycle lanes. It also has silent streets with shockingly clean air. And for a simple reason: all the buses, all the scooters and motorbikes, and at least 40% of the private cars (not very numerous because of the great transit) are electric.
Europeans might be surprised to discover what a difference this electrification makes to a city. From personal experience of both, I can tell you that (IMO) Chinese cities are putting Swiss ones in the shade. This should be a pretty shameful situation for the supposed quality-of-life superpower that Europe imagines itself to be.
Instead of punishing China for getting ahead in a technological battle that will benefit us all, Europe should be copying it.
Europe is copying it, or at least it’s doing the same thing. The problem is not what China is doing but how.
Sure. So let us do it better in Europe then. This just sounds like defensive excuses. Europe’s car makers could have decided - or been forced - to switch to electric. Europe could have banned the abomination that is the combustion scooter, or taxed to oblivion the SUV. We collectively decided that Volkswagen’s short-term profits are more important than our environment or our economic future. That’s on us, it’s not China’s fault.
Europe has forced car makers to switch to electric, for 2035. It’s just not viable to do it overnight.
Shenzhen and Hong Kong and many other Chinese cities are really great, I have been there too. The point is that what we see and what you describe is the surface. China is a deeply autocratic regime. It’s a shame what the CCP is doing to the Chinese people and their culture.
This is not about EV cars, but it is a perfect real-life example what happens if and when you pursue an economic policy like China’s:
China solar panel manufacturers seek government action to halt freefall in prices
Chinese solar panel manufacturers said they are seeking immediate government intervention to curb investment and industry collaboration to arrest a plunge in prices of solar cells and modules, as the industry faces overcapacity.
Financial incentives and a government push have helped China become the solar panel factory of the world, accounting for about 80% of global module capacity. Analysts expect Chinese manufacturers to add up to 600 gigawatts (GW) this year, enough to meet global demand through 2032.
However, with no end in sight for the plunge in prices, industry officials and analysts said intense competition was threatening to drive smaller producers into bankruptcy. Rapid capacity additions drove down prices of China’s finished solar panels by 42% last year.
[Edit typo.]
Why not put the tariffs on gas powered cars though?
