Cheap Chinese electric cars are coming to the US and Europe • Hacker News Board

Re: Cheap Chinese electric cars are coming to the US and Europe

#21

Post by akshatrathi » Mon, Feb 04, 2019, 5:06 PM UTC

DeonPenny wrote: post #19

I would guess these work better in china which is a more dense country without the driving culture the US at least has. A car that goes 28mph with a limited range is basically a scooter.

With a 450 kg load capacity, but yes.

Re: Cheap Chinese electric cars are coming to the US and Europe

#22

Post by Scarblac » Mon, Feb 04, 2019, 5:07 PM UTC

DeonPenny wrote: post #19

I would guess these work better in china which is a more dense country without the driving culture the US at least has. A car that goes 28mph with a limited range is basically a scooter.

Exactly, this is something to use within a single city it seems. In the Netherlands, people use their bicycle for that.

Re: Cheap Chinese electric cars are coming to the US and Europe

#23

Post by akshatrathi » Mon, Feb 04, 2019, 5:07 PM UTC

monochromatic wrote: post #15

oblio wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but not at that price point Are they too expensive?

$9000 seems like a lot for something so limited.

Yeah, I'd like to buy them at the price they sell it in China: $2,500.

Re: Cheap Chinese electric cars are coming to the US and Europe

#24

Post by hourislate » Mon, Feb 04, 2019, 5:07 PM UTC

mdgrech23 wrote: post #11

No crash protection? Almost 10k? I can get a decent used vehicle for 10k with a better top speed and crash protection. Seems like a no brainer to me to stick w/ a traditional model.

I suppose the advantage is you might not be required to have a drivers license or insurance since the vehicle might be classified like a electric scooter or something. Sort of like driving a golf cart around.

I'm really surprised the Japanese mini-trucks havn't taken off in the USA. They would be great for busy city streets where parking and space could be problematic. They also don't cost very much (used 5k USD).

Re: Cheap Chinese electric cars are coming to the US and Europe

#25

Post by akshatrathi » Mon, Feb 04, 2019, 5:09 PM UTC

amigiac wrote: post #6

They don't mention the range...

Got lost in the edit. Doh. Added now. Thanks!

Re: Cheap Chinese electric cars are coming to the US and Europe

#26

Post by subjectHarold » Mon, Feb 04, 2019, 5:09 PM UTC

swarnie_ wrote: post #4

fxfan wrote: post #3

Not if Trump deems the talks with China to have failed and levies tax. I've watched too many liveleaks to be able to sit in anything China made

Can't see Trumps opinion holding much weight in Europe to be honest.

Didn't you know that French protesters have been chanting "We want Trump"?

Re: Cheap Chinese electric cars are coming to the US and Europe

#27

Post by zazen » Mon, Feb 04, 2019, 5:11 PM UTC

akshatrathi wrote: post #13

I wrote this article and a field guide on China's electric-car boom https://qz.com/guide/electric-cars/ . Happy to answer any questions.

Are these road-legal in the west? If the off-road farm and construction-site applications are the only use-cases, that would seem to rather limit the impact on the market.

Re: Cheap Chinese electric cars are coming to the US and Europe

#28

Post by buboard » Mon, Feb 04, 2019, 5:12 PM UTC

these seem great to replace scooters in european cities.

Re: Cheap Chinese electric cars are coming to the US and Europe

#29

Post by jaclaz » Mon, Feb 04, 2019, 5:12 PM UTC

These will go (in Europe) in the same range of so-called tiny-cars (quadricycles), discussed here:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18061897

Re: Cheap Chinese electric cars are coming to the US and Europe

#30

Post by mtw » Mon, Feb 04, 2019, 5:12 PM UTC

akshatrathi wrote: post #13

I wrote this article and a field guide on China's electric-car boom https://qz.com/guide/electric-cars/ . Happy to answer any questions.

Do you know if they actually make a profit on a $1000 or $9000 price, or they're just dumping their products on the market, like they did for solar panels?