When China’s BYD recently overtook Elon Musk’s Tesla as the global leader in sales of electric vehicles, casual observers of the auto industry might have been surprised.

But what’s caught other carmakers around the world off-guard is something else about BYD, which is backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway: its low prices.

“No one can match BYD on price. Period,” Michael Dunne, CEO of Asia-focused car consultancy Dunne Insights, told the Financial Times. “Boardrooms in America, Europe, Korea and Japan are in a state of shock.”

BYD can keeps its costs low in part because it owns the entire supply chain of its EV batteries, from the raw materials to the finished battery packs. That matters because a battery accounts for about 40% of a new electric vehicle’s price.

  • thechadwick@lemmy.worldEnglish
    361·
    2 years ago

    Yeah! Airbags suck! Wait, what?

    Clown take if I’ve ever seen one lol

    • Anyolduser@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
      81·
      2 years ago

      But America bad! If America has airbags then airbags bad, too.

    • Squizzy@lemmy.worldEnglish
      323·
      2 years ago

      No not the airbags, the safety standards being “obscene”, cost prohibitive and not yield good results.

      So if American standards are preventing additional competition it should be because they have a very high standard which should bare out in terms of road and pedestrian deaths and injuries. It does not. Therefore the “obscene” standards are another example of poor results to cost.

      • ieatpillowtags@lemm.eeEnglish
        7·
        2 years ago

        What a silly thing to say. On what basis have you decided they don’t yield good results?

          • ieatpillowtags@lemm.eeEnglish
            4·
            2 years ago

            Not really conclusive as there have been increases in speeding and drunk driving that cause total accident numbers to go up. A more relevant stat would be fatality or injury rates per accident.

            • Squizzy@lemmy.worldEnglish
              44·
              2 years ago

              You’ve changed your tune from it being silly to needing more granular data.

              Pedestrian deaths are on the rise and decent safety regulations could impact speeding and drunk driving.

              • ieatpillowtags@lemm.eeEnglish
                41·
                2 years ago

                I said you were silly because it was more polite than calling you stupid, and in neither case is it referring to the issue of traffic deaths.

                And now you’ve changed your tune talking about pedestrians which has nothing to do with the topic.

                • Squizzy@lemmy.worldEnglish
                  2·
                  2 years ago

                  Car safety regs have nothing to do with pedestrian deaths? So cars with poor visibility due to design choices are in no way related to car safety or pedestrian deaths?

                  Cars having impact ready bumpers and lowered engine blocks that have a direct correlation with lower chances of death or serious injury in the event of a collision with a pedestrian or cyclist are completely unrelated to safety regulations?

              • Tattorack@lemmy.worldEnglish
                22·
                2 years ago

                That’s called “moving the goalpost” fallacy. :D

          • ThisIsNotHim@sopuli.xyzEnglish
            3·
            2 years ago

            Per capita probably isn’t a good way to measure this.

            Car deaths should probably be by miles driven.

          • kofe@lemmy.worldEnglish
            1·
            2 years ago

            Jesus what is going on in Russia

      • Shard@lemmy.worldEnglish
        62·
        2 years ago

        Sounds like what the Oceangate CEO said about industry safety requirements for submersibles.

        • Squizzy@lemmy.worldEnglish
          34·
          2 years ago

          I’m saying they’re not fit for purpose, America has a shit ton of road and pedestrian deaths. The safety regulations don’t do enough.