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

#51

Post by justtopost » Mon, Feb 04, 2019, 5:32 PM UTC

gamblor956 wrote: post #46

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?

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.

About 2 years is about when most seem to pass the worth-it-to-repair mark. These are all basically designed to be nearly disposable as technologues and tastes change.

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

#52

Post by michaelt » Mon, Feb 04, 2019, 5:34 PM UTC

Poiesis wrote: post #33

At that price point I'd enthusiastically recommend a three year old Nissan Leaf; that's about what I paid and it's served me well.

Did you have to take over a battery lease, and if so how much will you be paying and for how long?

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

#53

Post by thefounder » Mon, Feb 04, 2019, 5:35 PM UTC

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…

They are so f ugly. They should be illegal.

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

#54

Post by pier25 » Mon, Feb 04, 2019, 5:38 PM UTC

I'm surprised China is going straight to the first world markets. These could be a hit in developing countries like Mexico (at China prices).

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

#55

Post by dv_dt » Mon, Feb 04, 2019, 5:40 PM UTC

These seem like utility (landscaping) grade golf carts that are already a market in the US. Available in mostly gas, but some electric forms.

https://www.deere.com/en/gator-utility-vehicles/

https://www.toro.com/en/sports-fields-municipalities/utility...

https://www.catresourcecenter.com/machine/landscaping/utilit...

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

#56

Post by solotronics » Mon, Feb 04, 2019, 5:43 PM UTC

there is 0 chance of these being sold as road legal in the US market

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

#57

Post by YetAnotherNick » Mon, Feb 04, 2019, 5:44 PM UTC

thefounder wrote: post #53

matthewaveryusa wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

They are so f ugly. They should be illegal.

It falls into the uncanny valley on so many axes.

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

#58

Post by AJ007 » Mon, Feb 04, 2019, 5:44 PM UTC

bluGill wrote: post #9

amigiac wrote: post #6

They don't mention the range...

That is one of the things not mentioned. Do they have heat/AC, do they work when it is -30, how do they do in a crash (granted at a 28mph top speed they don't need much production). Will they be road legal? I'm interested, my 4 mile commute never gets to 30mph anyway, but I need to be sure it will work for me vs just be another ATV that I have no use for. (I just moved, my bike is someplace but until the weather impr…

I may wildly presumptive (based on the photo in the article), but if there aren't any doors I'm not sure how useful heat/AC would be.

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

#59

Post by Xixi » Mon, Feb 04, 2019, 5:44 PM UTC

As a comparison I looked at the two best sellers in Europe [1]: Nissan Leaf and Renault Zoe. Renault Zoe is the cheapest at 22,900 USD without battery (which can be rent) or 31,350 USD with battery. Renting the battery is a popular choice in the EU (at least in France, not sure in other countries).

[1] https://cleantechnica.com/2019/02/03/europe-ev-sales-renault...

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

#60

Post by v_lisivka » Mon, Feb 04, 2019, 5:45 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.

I saw electrical cargo tricycles in use at local resort. They are quiet and cheap (about $2k). IMHO, they are ideal for resorts.

https://www.google.com/search?q=hercules+tricycle+electric