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Cheap Chinese electric cars are coming to the US and Europe

qz.com

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

#41

Post by mkirklions »

brightball wrote: post #35
Someone1234 wrote: post #31

I'd technically be in the demographic for this. I have a less than 10 mile commute. However, that 28 MpH maximum speed is a legitimate limitation/problem, even on my under 10 mile commute, there's at least two roads that are 40 MpH (people drive 45 MpH), and I'm going to get honked at if I can barely maintain 28 MpH. I like the price and concept... But that max speed is a deal breaker. It will be interesting to see w…

These are literally golf carts. Exact same usage as a golf cart.

No safety protection = not cars IMO.

Can't go on the freeway, no airbags, this lets not compare with US cars.

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

#42

Post by HashHishBang »

akshatrathi wrote: post #16
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 didn't say there's no crash protection on the Pickman. It's the $1000 cars sold in China that don't have them. Pretty sure that to qualify in the US and Europe, the Kaiyun car need to a minimum level of safety features.

According to this retailer (I think it's a retailer at least) "crash protection" is not really an included feature.

http://www.trackandfieldmotors.com/info.php?car_id=133

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

#43

Post by akshatrathi »

fignews wrote: post #37

In the US you can buy a used Fiat 500 Electric or Chevy Spark Electric for around the same price.

Good point. Didn't realize that was possible now. But makes sense given how long some electric cars have been now. Next time I write about LSEVs, I'll make a note to mention second-hand electric cars.

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

#44

Post by mkirklions »

While this isn't a car to me(no airbags/freeway capability), this topic has shown how saturated Tesla's market has become.

I've counted 3 competitors with electric vehicles that can be bought around this 10k price point(used).

Makes me wonder how long Tesla can get away selling vehicles that are anti-consumer(no buttons/switches).

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

#45

Post by howard941 »

oblio wrote: post #8
howard941 wrote: post #5

I'd prefer something like this for my in-city commute over the already-allowed golf cart, but not at that price point.

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

In a relative sense, for me, yes. Small value for more than the price of a beaten-up Fiat 500.

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

#46

Post by gamblor956 »

mtw wrote: post #30
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?

It's a combination of dumping and also just extremely low-quality materials and products. I would be extremely surprised if any of these vehicles lasted a year.

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

#48

Post by zaroth »

matthewaveryusa wrote: post #40
zazen wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

These I'm not sure, but overall yes they can be street legal: The Renault Twizy -- I've seen them in France and in Cambridge, MA ( https://www.bonzer.rocks/ ) They're in use and cost ~10k. Last time I checked you can get a 25mpg and a 50mpg version. While the 25mpg versions are street legal and available now in the US market, I believe the 50mpg version is still only available in europe. https://www.renault.fr/vehicu…

Mph?

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

#49

Post by jbay808 »

hourislate wrote: post #24
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).

I often wonder where I can get one of those mini trucks. They are so much more practical than F150s for transporting things around a city.

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

#50

Post by justtopost »

akshatrathi wrote: post #38
mtw wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

I don't for certain. In my trip to China, I couldn't meet makers of LSEVs. What I do know is that there are no subsidies in that market, which means carmakers won't survive if they don't make a profit. But it's a good question whether they are making that profit at the cost of human lives (no crash protection) or the environment (lead-acid batteries).

There is honestly little/no question there as to production methods and their human and environmental impact.
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