this post was submitted on 10 Jul 2025
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[–] melsaskca 6 points 46 minutes ago (1 children)

But it would also help american people. Which is more important, I wonder.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 23 minutes ago

Stop giving them more reasons not to allow it

[–] [email protected] 1 points 15 minutes ago

Tariffs be damned, I will not buy an American brand car. They've been mediocre my whole life and it's always been easier to source parts for Hondas and Toyotas. I'm not sure how repairable any EV is, but I doubt American brands will top the charts of value in repairability in my lifetime

[–] [email protected] 99 points 8 hours ago (2 children)

Oh no! The type of capitalism where we have to compete!

Make it go away, Daddy Trump!

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Sadly, I think it was Biden that put a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs. Fuck Trump, but come on, Biden, don't do this shit for them. I really like that new Xiaomi YU7.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 hour ago

But the Chinese government could be spying on you if you bought a Chinese manufactured car!!

P.S. for bonus points, does anyone know where most GM automobiles are currently being manufactured?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 hours ago (8 children)

Tbf notoriously China subsidizes BYD to net loss so its not exactly capitalism.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Did you forget all the bailouts US car manufacturers received?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 42 minutes ago

Sadly, ever since “too big to fail”, any large corporation is now nearly indistinguishable from the federal government. Just another example of socialism for the rich, capitalism for the rest of us.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 hours ago

The US subsidizes farms and petroleum.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 5 hours ago (2 children)

What do you think Walmart does when they enter a new market, the eat losses till the local competition folds and they are the only option left

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 hours ago

Well don’t forget that Walmart itself is literally government subsidized when the people employed there still need food stamps or other welfare programs.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 hours ago

Your point is? They are both shit, agreed. The fact that we have asshole corps here, doesn't mean we need more of them. We need to fight Walmart, not bring in the Walmart of cars.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 7 hours ago

All car manufacturers world wide are subsidized.

https://subsidytracker.goodjobsfirst.org/parent-totals

Of course China can make cheaper cars, because most car manufacturers get their parts produced in China anyway.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 hours ago (2 children)

It's state sponsored capitalism and China has pumped a ton of money into BYD to get them to where they are.

I can see them giving larger tax breaks to companies in the US, but current administration is all in on tariffs as the way to increase our domestic production. It doesn't make ours any better or cheaper, just everything else more expensive.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 37 minutes ago

State sponsored capitalism is what everyone does. The only reason Tesla even exists is because of US government support

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

It doesn't make ours any better or cheaper, just everything else more expensive.

it also makes your domestic products more expensive because cars etc still have to source components and industrial machines from internationally so it’s tariffs all the way down

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

And if they didn't source internationally, they'd have to pay local labor prices, so it's more expensive regardless of the direction they choose to go. If you make imports expensive enough, local goods will become more attractive, sure, but not cheaper.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 hours ago

fair game IMHO. if you look at china as one big agent, then they can indeed act like that.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago) (1 children)

They phased out their subsidies in 2022

They still have a trade in program to get ICE vehicles off the road.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

A lot of these subsidies (both in the US and China) are implicit. Chinese state rail networks operate at cost, allowing cheap transportation of materials and labor. American borrowing is heavily subsidized through the Fed Credit Window, which keeps rates in the low single digits while corporate bonds and consumer loans can be 2x-30x as high. Both countries cut corners on environmental enforcement and subsidize waste management. Both countries subsidize education and incentive R&D through their university systems.

The real benefit BYD enjoys - even above its Chinese peers - is vertical integration. They own everything from mining interests to technology patents to dealerships. This is a deliberate consequence of Chinese trade policy, which requires foreign investors to partner with Chinese nationals in order to own and operate capital. Consequently, Berkshire Hathaway - a large early investor in BYD - cannot dictate Chinese vehicle manufacturing policy from a private office in Omaha. Chinese locals benefit from the innovation, the domestic capital, the experienced labor force (which can migrate to local competitors), and the increased economic activity it produces.

China is insourcing it's wealth aggregation, which has a cyclical compound benefit over time.

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[–] [email protected] 63 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

Good. Fuckem. They make shitty, oversized trucks that are a danger to pedestrians and people who drive reasonably sized cars anyway.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 hour ago

The Chinese too know how to make unnecessary large cars, unfortunately.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

My boss in the UK got one. In bright red. It looks like he's driving a fucking fire engine.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

My old boss was a huge man who went around in a little yellow convertible. We called him Noddy.

May I suggest calling him Fireman Sam?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Yeah, our VP rides around in a 2-door coupe and he's very tall, while my coworker (who is shorter) drives a big SUV because "he doesn't fit in smaller cars." I'm also tall and drive a Toyota Prius, which is small.

At the end of the day, none of that's legitimate, it's just an excuse to buy the car you prefer.

Larger cars should cost more because they take up more space, wear out the roads faster, and impact the environment more.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

At the end of the day, none of that’s legitimate, it’s just an excuse to buy the car you prefer.

Since when is buying what we prefer considered negative? Calling it an excuse seems short-sighted.

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