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Honda is killing its EVs

techcrunch.com

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Re: Honda is killing its EVs

#31

Post by nytesky »

johanvts wrote: post #15
nytesky wrote: post #6

Honda is an engine company at its heart. It makes very reliable, long lived engines. They refine technology not really invent it (maybe invented VTEC). The transition to EV will be very gradual, I don’t even think we have enough rare earth metals and electrical grid capacity to go even twice as fast in adoption? Honda is waiting for the standards and technology to settle out and become commodity technology, then they…

Once EVs are economically attractive the transition can be very fast. I live in Denmark so I have seen it, it took 7 years to go from ~5% to 90+% of new cars sold. Both EU and US are now relying on trade barriers to keep Chinese EVs away from consumers.

How is safety and quality for Chinese EVs? There was the 2008 melamine baby formula scandal, where a toxic substance was deliberately introduced into baby formula for domestic market. Chinese food imports were curtailed across many countries.

Capitalism over there is at another level, and cars are so complicated with tiny changes can have huge problems. Look at the immobilizer chips that Kia dropped to save $5, which resulted in thousands of car thefts and the whole Kia Boyz phenomenon.

Re: Honda is killing its EVs

#32

Post by Kirby64 »

ikr678 wrote: post #29
ta9000 wrote: post #5

Ironically, Trump attacking Iran and closing the Strait is a boon to China and EV makers. Once the car is produced, aside from lubricants, it’s completely independent of oil. Heck you can put panels on your rooftop and slow charge it during the day.

The suuply chain for repair parts is still supported by oil (freight, packaging, any plastics). Better hope your vehicle is never damaged.

Sure, but increasingly less so as electrification takes off. And using less gas means you can redirect that to the other derivative products such as plastic.

Re: Honda is killing its EVs

#33

Post by steve-atx-7600 »

“Many automakers have found that dropping batteries into a car originally designed for an internal combustion engine”. Reminds me of idiotic hybrid variants of Subaru and Honda vehicles that don’t have spare tires because the battery was slapped into the existing vehicle platform as an afterthought. Eg. Subaru forester hybrid. Car bought by educated, practical folks.

Re: Honda is killing its EVs

#34

Post by whattheheckheck »

Spivak wrote: post #28
spicybbq wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Do people really want "software defined vehicles"? Absolutely, the sooner the better. The truth is, auto companies can track you, show you ads, and otherwise jerk you around without going all the way to having a "software defined vehicle." You just get a worse user experience.

If it doesn't have a screen or a network connection it can't do either of those things. I'm very eagerly awaiting the Slate truck for exactly this reason. A cheap barebones EV meant for hauling stuff and people locally. The thing can't even do OTA updates without you connecting your phone to the car's bluetooth.

A bezos car? Can we get a non oligarch car?

Re: Honda is killing its EVs

#35

Post by K0balt »

mindslight wrote: post #24
badpun wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Car tires are made with synthetic rubber, which is made from oil.

With where the Trumpists want to take us, tires made out of carved stone will suffice. Non-EVs will be retrofitted with a hole in the floor for your feet.

[dead]

Re: Honda is killing its EVs

#37

Post by johanvts »

nytesky wrote: post #31
johanvts wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Once EVs are economically attractive the transition can be very fast. I live in Denmark so I have seen it, it took 7 years to go from ~5% to 90+% of new cars sold. Both EU and US are now relying on trade barriers to keep Chinese EVs away from consumers.

How is safety and quality for Chinese EVs? There was the 2008 melamine baby formula scandal, where a toxic substance was deliberately introduced into baby formula for domestic market. Chinese food imports were curtailed across many countries. Capitalism over there is at another level, and cars are so complicated with tiny changes can have huge problems. Look at the immobilizer chips that Kia dropped to save $5, which…

I think the fear of low-quality and dangerous corner cutting is a big reason Chinese evs have not been even more popular in the EU. However as some brands start to establish themselves for longer they gain trust. Also we have Euro N-cap tests which are pretty extensive and lots of Chinese cars have earned excellent scores.

Re: Honda is killing its EVs

#38

Post by [deleted] »

epolanski wrote: post #21

I hate those narratives that if you don't jump on EVs, your future is doomed. The last 5 years just don't show it. The EV market is still small and infrastructure missing in most of the world. Toyota played it safe and made bank when everybody was saying they were doomed. German automakers went hard on EVs. VW group sold 1 million fully electric vehicles in 2025, they will probably overtake Tesla in a couple of years…

[deleted]

Re: Honda is killing its EVs

#39

Post by dangus »

I don’t think the title is hyperbole. Toyota isn’t giving up on their long term EV R&D plans.

Just look at Nissan, which is broke as a joke, but they still put a new Leaf model on the market.

Lately there’s been a vibe that the EV experiment has died off, but that really isn’t true looking at industry reporting.

There is stalling that seems related to subsidy expiration and/or scale back, but we could argue that subsidies expiring is happening because the subsidies aren’t needed to sell vehicles anymore.

20% of new vehicles sold globally are EVs. Critical mass has been achieved, and not just in China (20% of vehicles sold in Europe are EVs).

This is also an admission that Honda is just giving up on Acura completely. That $50k two row luxury SUV buyer that is such an industry staple buyer for the US auto industry is going to be buying Rivian R2s instead of an EV Acura MDX.

Re: Honda is killing its EVs

#40

Post by ZeroGravitas »

epolanski wrote: post #21

I hate those narratives that if you don't jump on EVs, your future is doomed. The last 5 years just don't show it. The EV market is still small and infrastructure missing in most of the world. Toyota played it safe and made bank when everybody was saying they were doomed. German automakers went hard on EVs. VW group sold 1 million fully electric vehicles in 2025, they will probably overtake Tesla in a couple of years…

The EU regulations are in many ways built to prevent this kind of free riding, for the sensible reasons that if everyone free rides, aiming for excess profits on the short term, the transition doesn't happen and the Chinese eat your whole market.
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