Thread: Electric cars pile up at European ports as Chinese firms struggle to find buyers

CAMBRIDGE: China’s automotive industry has revolutionised over the past decade, from producing basic Western clones to making cars that equal the world’s best. As the manufacturing powerhouse of the world, China is also producing them in huge volumes.


However, Chinese cars are facing difficulties in finding buyers in Europe. Imported cars, many of which are Chinese electric vehicles, are piling up at European ports, with some spending up to 18 months in port car parks as manufacturers struggle to get them onto people’s driveways.


Why is this, though? Chinese electric vehicles in particular are getting positive reviews. Having driven them myself, I can attest to them matching, or even exceeding, the well-known European brands in range, quality and technology.


But entering an established market as a challenger is a complex operation. Chinese makers will have to contend with buyer wariness, a lack of brand image, trade protectionism and rapid outdatedness.

LACK OF BUYER FAITH


China’s automotive expansion programme draws parallels with the moves made by Japan in the 1960s and 70s. At that time, the product coming from Japan was commendable but lacked the finesse, design and longevity of their Western counterparts. Japanese cars were thought of as tinny, underpowered and susceptible to rusting, as well as looking very generic compared to stylish European designs.


Memories of Japan’s involvement in World War II were also fresh in (particularly American) buyer’s minds, who were slow to forgive a nation that launched the Pearl Harbour attacks. However, by constantly focusing on a reliable, relatively cheap and increasingly stylish product, Japan slowly turned this around to become the automotive powerhouse of the 1990s and 2000s.


China is viewed with suspicion by many Westerners, and its carmakers are similarly hampered by their recent legacy of producing both endorsed and illegal clones of European cars. But with the lessons of the Japanese to learn from, Chinese cars are rapidly advancing to match and exceed existing alternatives.

Strategic purchases of brands like Volvo, Lotus and MG have also given China existing brands that are respected and, more importantly, have some of the best engineering knowledge in the world.


Yet, even after buying up Western brands, Chinese automakers have proven unable to buy loyalty from existing customers of brands like BMW, Porsche, Ferrari and Ford. For these buyers, the history of the brand in terms of known reliability and even things like motor sport success is something that Chinese makers, like the Japanese, will have to build up over time.


It was Ford dealers who, in the 1960s, coined the phrase: “Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday”. The phrase is as an adage to attest the fact that if buyers see a car winning a race, they’ll be motivated to go out and buy one.


Existing manufacturers also have a legacy of reliability that buyers have experienced for themselves, giving a huge brand loyalty benefit. Add to this a lack of an established dealer network outside of China and you see how Chinese makers struggle against the established competition.

A CHALLENGING TRADE ENVIRONMENT


China has a price advantage compared to Europe or the US. Economies of scale, excellent shipping links and cheap labour mean that Chinese cars are cheaper both to make and buy.


However, in many countries they are subject to high import tariffs. The European Union currently imposes a 10 per cent import tariff on each car brought in. And in the US, President Joe Biden on Tuesday (May 14) announced a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles.


These tariffs may well rise further. The EU is conducting an investigation into whether its tariff is too low. If it concludes this later this year, higher duties will be applied retrospectively to imported cars.


Cars, and specifically electric vehicles, are also in a phase of their development where they see rapid changes and updates. Traditionally, vehicle models would see a market life of between four and seven years, perhaps with small updates in trim, colour palette or feature availability.


But Tesla has turned this on its head. The Tesla Model S, for example, has seen almost continuous product updates that make it barely recognisable in terms of hardware from a car released in 2012. Chinese automakers have taken note. They are bringing out new models around 30 per cent faster than in most other nations.


Tesla is supporting owners of older cars with upgrades, at extra expense, to bring them in line with the latest hardware. Without guaranteed software support like this, the rate at which Chinese automakers are bringing out new models could make buyers wary that the product they have bought will soon become outdated compared to buying a car on a more traditional update cycle.





HOW TO SUCCEED


Many of these factors can be fixed. They also chime more with private buyers than business buyers, who are more concerned with cost. Chinese makers would be well-advised to push harder into this market.


In the UK, the fleet market dwarfs the private market, and the situation is similar in Europe. Selling en masse to fleets and rental companies gets more cars on the road and allows more data about reliability to feed into the market.


The road to succeeding in a new market such as the EU will be slow and bumpy. But it’s clear that China is laser-focused on its global push. It remains to be seen whether this lack of buyers can be turned around.


Commentary: Electric cars pile up at European ports as Chinese firms struggle to find buyers - CNA

China’s EV overcapacity may set it on a political collision course with the US - CNA

Even the stupid English now realise EVs are overpriced shite that are generally irreparable and fall out of bed within three years, if they last that long, and are literally worthless.

The only way anyone with a brain should procure one is to get a good deal on a lease but given the companies are looking at a very short life with no avenue to offload and recoup costs, that’s going to be a big ask.

The way energy costs are cranking up with the globall warming bullshit taxes and the high price for electricity EVs are for suckers. ICEs are clean these days, economical, have a 10 year guaranteed cycle and oil is plentiful and cheap.

In the end politics will decide and that depends on populism - this climate change is a bore and in the end, of no consequence. Driving is a fucking human right.

A Tesla model Y battery takes up all of the space under the passenger compartment of the car.

To manufacture it you need:
-- 12 tons of rock for Lithium (can also be extracted from sea water)
-- 5 tons of cobalt minerals (Most cobalt is made as a byproduct of processing copper and nickel ores. It is the most difficult and expensive
material to obtain for a battery.)
-- 3 tons nickel ore
-- 12 tons of copper ore.

You must move 250 tons of soil to obtain:
-- 26.5 pounds of Lithium
-- 30 pounds of nickel
-- 48.5 pounds of manganese
-- 15 pounds of cobalt

To manufacture the battery also requires:
-- 441 pounds of aluminium, steel and/or plastic
-- 112 pounds of graphite.

The Caterpillar 994A is used to move the earth to obtain the minerals needed for this battery.
The Caterpillar consumes 264 gallons of diesel in 12 hours.
The bulk of necessary minerals for manufacturing the batteries come from China or Africa.
Much of the labour in Africa is done by children.
When you buy an electric car, China profits most.

The 2021 Tesla Model Y OEM battery (the cheapest Tesla battery) is currently for sale on the Internet for $4,999 not including shipping or installation.
The battery weighs 1,000 pounds (you can imagine the shipping cost).

The cost of Tesla batteries are:
Model 3 -- $14,000+ (Car MSRP $38,990)
Model Y -- $5,000–$5,500 (Car MSRP $47,740)
Model S -- $13,000–$20,000 (Car MSRP $74,990)
Model X -- $13,000+ (Car MSRP $79,990)


It takes 7 years for an electric car to reach net-zero CO2.

The life expectancy of the battery is 10 years (average).

Only in the last 3 years do you start to reduce your carbon footprint, but then the batteries must be replaced and you lose all gains made.

But by all means, get an electric car. Just don't smugly tell me how helpful you are for the environment. Or for human rights.

maybe a needed transition technology?

properly maintained petrol and diesel cars are no threat to our precious climate. over half of the products we use in everyday life are dependent on oil and its myriad by products, stop producing oil and there are no plastics, medicines, clothes, everything in fact if there are no plastics then natural resources will need to be used to supply the overpopulated planet with its needs.

the climate extremists remit is no more than a marxist curtailment of capitalism, and the climate will do what it wants come what may, nature knows best and should the planet really be threatened then nature will let loose some toxic virus (with a bit of luck in iran or china ) that will decimate populations down to a more sustainable level and all will be well.

there are too many people, not too many cars!