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Mexican government unveils a prototype for a new homegrown, ultra-affordable EV

gizmodo.com

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Re: Mexican government unveils a prototype for a new homegrown, ultra-affordable EV

#131

Post by formerly_proven »

lenerdenator wrote: post #103
bruce511 wrote: post #15

The Ford CEO is not wrong. Allowing foreign imports into the country at prices far below what US producers are able to make will decimate the local car industry in the US. There are 4 possible solutions to this problem; a) convince Americans that it's worth paying more for a locally built product. This is the simplest approach, but there's only so much margin here that the consumer will tolerate. At the moment this g…

Tariff is probably the easiest path forward. You'll need to pay workers more to make D) work. That cuts into margins. That means it's DOA.

GM has had like what, 1.5% net profit in 2025?

Re: Mexican government unveils a prototype for a new homegrown, ultra-affordable EV

#132

Post by thelastgallon »

HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #51
phildenhoff wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you have a charger at home, or at work, why does it matter if you have to charge it daily or weekly? Yes, for some lifestyles, range matters. For others, a 125 km range is perfectly acceptable

For a significant segment of the US population, that thing wouldn't get them to work and back, so they'd have to charge it both at home and at work. And in many cases, forget running any errands, picking up kids from daycare, etc. And minimum speed on US interstates is typically 40mph, so that reduces its usability even more.

28% of trips are under a mile, 52% under three, 64% under five, 79% under ten, 93% under twenty-five, and 98% under 50 miles.

Only 0.8% of the trips are over 100 miles!

> For a significant segment of the US population, that thing wouldn't get them to work and back

0.8% is not significant.

Re: Mexican government unveils a prototype for a new homegrown, ultra-affordable EV

#133

Post by beowulfey »

GenerWork wrote: post #66
hmm37 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The tariff route is what happened in the 1970s under the "chicken tax", which still exists today to protect the US light truck industry, and is pretty much the reason why SUVs reign supreme in the US market. SUVs are classified as "light trucks", which has caused a Galapagozation of the US car industry/market.

I see this take on SUVs all the time, and I can't help but think it's wrong. Americans just like bigger vehicles and will downsize if gas gets too expensive. There's a reason almost all electric car companies start off with a CUV/SUV/truck, and it's not because they're allergic to sedans or coupes.

There is a market for smaller cars and trucks but its probably smaller than for other countries. We don't have the smaller roads/spaces associated with e.g. Europe. But for sure I would buy small cars or trucks first any day compared to the monsters on the road; there are few options though.

Re: Mexican government unveils a prototype for a new homegrown, ultra-affordable EV

#134

Post by steveBK123 »

petesergeant wrote: post #115
jackb4040 wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US didn't go from #1 in global auto manufacturing to nearing extinction on accident. The companies shifted production abroad because they didn't want to pay for US labor. We can't just pray for "development" to spark a chain reaction that gets us back on track - we were the most developed and consciously chose to squander that advantage. Onshoring can be done, but it will have a real cost someone will have to bea…

> The companies shifted production abroad because they didn't want to pay for US labor Realistically it’s the consumers who didn’t want to pay for it

Also US cars were genuinely horrendous in the 80s-90s in terms of build quality & reliability vs same price or cheaper Japanese equivalents.

It's only rather recent that all the big name car makes from US/Europe/Japan/Korea are pretty good & reliable. There were huge differences 30-40 years ago.

Re: Mexican government unveils a prototype for a new homegrown, ultra-affordable EV

#135

Post by stevenwoo »

Symbiote wrote: post #72
elgertam wrote: post #22

My first thought when looking at it is that I doubt the vehicle could pass US safety regulations. Maybe I'm wrong.

Based on similar vehicles in Europe, it's probably not a car but some sort of motorcycle.

Motorcycle licensing is a bit specific( at least in California ) even if one has an automobile license, I only looked at it casually, have to buy special clothes for the training class and pass before getting learners permit to get practice for taking state test, but most of the skills learned in the training class are not applicable to this vehicle AFAIK. I would speculate it's closer to a Japanese small form factor Kei truck which are importable under certain restrictions - which must be 25 years old or older, not legal for public road use in many(most?) places due to bumper/crash testing/airbag requirements, though I've seen a couple in California in suburban/rural areas. Also see tourists driving essentially golf carts in places like San Diego on downtown streets. It seems murky to me.

Re: Mexican government unveils a prototype for a new homegrown, ultra-affordable EV

#136

Post by steveBK123 »

bruce511 wrote: post #15

The Ford CEO is not wrong. Allowing foreign imports into the country at prices far below what US producers are able to make will decimate the local car industry in the US. There are 4 possible solutions to this problem; a) convince Americans that it's worth paying more for a locally built product. This is the simplest approach, but there's only so much margin here that the consumer will tolerate. At the moment this g…

Before deciding on a solution, Governments also need to decide on what problem they are solving. Why do they want to protect domestic automakers specifically?

Is it national defense synergy / surge capacity reasons? Is it general manufacturing know how / impact on overall domestic manufacturing supply chain? Is it jobs for current workers? Is it to keep the pensions solvent for retirees?

I saw a comment re: this issue in Europe where a Portuguese commenter asked why it was fine for the Eurocrats (lead by Germany) to let all their apparel jobs go overseas, but now he doesn't get the option of buying a Chinese car because German auto jobs need protection. There is something of a point there.

Re: Mexican government unveils a prototype for a new homegrown, ultra-affordable EV

#137

Post by NuclearPM »

jackb4040 wrote: post #89
bruce511 wrote: post #15

The Ford CEO is not wrong. Allowing foreign imports into the country at prices far below what US producers are able to make will decimate the local car industry in the US. There are 4 possible solutions to this problem; a) convince Americans that it's worth paying more for a locally built product. This is the simplest approach, but there's only so much margin here that the consumer will tolerate. At the moment this g…

The US didn't go from #1 in global auto manufacturing to nearing extinction on accident. The companies shifted production abroad because they didn't want to pay for US labor. We can't just pray for "development" to spark a chain reaction that gets us back on track - we were the most developed and consciously chose to squander that advantage. Onshoring can be done, but it will have a real cost someone will have to bea…

By accident. (Good)

On purpose. (Good)

An accident. (Good)

On accident. (Bad)

Re: Mexican government unveils a prototype for a new homegrown, ultra-affordable EV

#138

Post by moffkalast »

The amount of power used to keep a car going at highways speeds is 60% air drag. With how much people value range in EVs, why is it that almost every manufacturer designs theirs as literal boxes on wheels with some lights and doors? Cars in the 1920 almost had better aero and they had no idea what it even was.

Re: Mexican government unveils a prototype for a new homegrown, ultra-affordable EV

#139

Post by HWR_14 »

pragma_x wrote: post #118
bruce511 wrote: post #15

The Ford CEO is not wrong. Allowing foreign imports into the country at prices far below what US producers are able to make will decimate the local car industry in the US. There are 4 possible solutions to this problem; a) convince Americans that it's worth paying more for a locally built product. This is the simplest approach, but there's only so much margin here that the consumer will tolerate. At the moment this g…

There may be another option. Consider Japan's Kei car initiative, for example. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kei_car#Description https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kei_car#Taxation_and_insurance One route is to provide incentives, if not regulations, to force innovation on US automakers. The goal would be to yield products that are head-to-head competitive with imports. > It seems to me though that the current strategy se…

The main difference between a car like this and a kei car is the ability to drive it, at least for a short while, on the expressway. If this could go a couple miles at 45 or 50 mph that would work in lot more situations where two neighborhoods or urban areas are connected by a short stretch of highway.

Re: Mexican government unveils a prototype for a new homegrown, ultra-affordable EV

#140

Post by coredog64 »

steveBK123 wrote: post #134
petesergeant wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The companies shifted production abroad because they didn't want to pay for US labor Realistically it’s the consumers who didn’t want to pay for it

Also US cars were genuinely horrendous in the 80s-90s in terms of build quality & reliability vs same price or cheaper Japanese equivalents. It's only rather recent that all the big name car makes from US/Europe/Japan/Korea are pretty good & reliable. There were huge differences 30-40 years ago.

I think there's a finer point here: US consumers don't want to pay for local UAW labor. GM&Toyota did fine out of the NUMMI plant, and companies like Nissan and Mercedes are making cars in Alabama.
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