• Teppa@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      The problem is Japan doesnt refine any materials while China refines all the materials, and electric vehicles are relatively simple relative to combustion engines so theres less barrier to entry. The largest barrier is the battery, which is also manufactured in China.

      • worhui@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        This article seems to be focused on manufacturing for the Chinese domestic market, not the export of cars. They are worried about being shut out of the Chinese market.

        • CosmoNova@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          And they are 100% right about their assumption. China isn‘t letting anyone in anymore. They use their entire state capitalist machine to reject foreign companies completely. Global companies should forget about China and decouple.

          • Riverside@reddthat.com
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            3 months ago

            China isn‘t letting anyone in anymore.

            You’re literally making this up, though. As an example, China recently passed a fiscal reform to develop Hainan province making it easier for foreign companies to establish themselves there and, if they give a given percentage of added value, be able to export their product to the rest of provinces without import taxes.

        • Riverside@reddthat.com
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          3 months ago

          Wages are small in China because cost of life is small. You can find a bowl of noodles for $2 or less in most of China, 90+% of people own their housing so don’t have to pay rent, and utilities are heavily subsidized. I spent 2 weeks visiting China a bit over a year ago and I saw fewer homeless people in the whole trip than I saw between the airport and the hotel in my only US visit (work related)

  • CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works
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    3 months ago

    I swear to god this and the Ford CEO saying basically the exact same thing have some benefit for them that isn’t obvious. CEOs won’t even admit anything bad even when it’s their own company doing something wrong that has everyone pissed at them. There’s no chance in hell a CEO is going to publicly announce that “we have no chance” against a competitors product.

    There’s probably some backroom deal with China where these guys “play the fool” for a day and then get access to something, whether domestic manufacturing in China, access to tech, access to rare earths, or some other thing.

    • big_slap@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      I want this car sooooo bad, the price pre-american tarrifs is absolutely amazing.

      all car manufacturers have been phoning it in for years, it was only a matter of time before a decent threat decided to join in on the fun. I thought it would be tesla to be the major disrupter over ten years ago, but we all know how this is panning out lol

  • big_slap@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    what these car companies fail to understand is, at this point, many potential buyers want CHEAP cars that have features you find at luxury prices. unfortunately, all these car companies have split their business into two different brands: economical (Honda) and luxury (Acura).

    I believe if this was not the case, it would be much easier to have r&d begin to compete with china, as they are able to put these high end features into affordable cars (as the xiaomi su7 has already proven).

    these car manufacturers have coasted on their success with no true innovation for too long. I personally hope Honda can make it through, but I just don’t see it… I would have loved to own an Acura ZDX if it wasn’t for the insanely high price (which I believe they discontinued as of last year…?)

    • Bluefruit@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      I want a car that doesnt guzzle gas, blows hot and cold and is relatively easy to maintain.

      Every other “luxury” feature like touch screens, heated seats, backup cams, I don’t necessarily need. I do like having a backup camera though. My 2015 Toyota Camry does everything I need it to, aside from the stupid touchscreen and the obnoxious way it plays whatever was last playing when my phone connects. Thankfully it still has physical buttons and dials for things.

      • Atropos@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        I’ll go one farther, and say I actively do not want those luxury features. I like maintaining my cars, and the addition of all these systems makes it that much more complicated.

        All I am looking for is reliability! The only fancy feature I’d add would be a beeping backup sensor. But no camera. Heck, I’m fine with manual door locks and no AC.

        I would have purchased an electric vehicle long before now if I could get one without a touchscreen. But alas, I am stuck in thee land of mega trucks known as the US.

        • Bluefruit@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          I do get that. Less things in the car means less things that can break which yea, I’m all for to a point. I just can’t take heat, I need the ac man.

          And I would love to have an electric car if I drove less than 100 miles a day, if chargers were more common, if all chargers used the same common charger port and connector, and if I had a house go charge if at. Also if swaping batteries wasnt a nightmare. That should be the easiest thing to do on an electric car aside from maintaining motors or swapping other common components.

      • village604@adultswim.fan
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        3 months ago

        Heated seats are pretty nice for long distance driving. But fuck adding it to the infotainment system.

        And back up cameras are mandatory now, so it’s no longer a luxury feature.

  • ShotDonkey@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    I am genuinely shocked reading this from a Japanese car CEO. A German or an American, well they suck in terms of quality (yes also German cars, read the tests, very bad performance in repairs/km driven). Japanese cars usually score high in quality and innovation.

  • strop@lemmy.ml
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    3 months ago

    Fuck. Cars.

    Including electric ones.

    Including asphalt.