Just why are Chinese EVs so much cheaper?
If you’ve been reading this newsletter for a while, you’re well aware that China has almost overnight become the world leader on electric vehicles. This week, another Chinese milestone: BYD unveils a new vehicle with a claimed battery range of over 1,000 km. Most flummoxing to competitors: why are Chinese EVs so cheap? Sure, they’re (somewhat) subsidized, but a new report suggests that’s not even close to the top reason.
Meanwhile, Swedish autonomous freight delivery group Einride raises big bucks ahead of going public, electric trucking startup Harbinger acquires an important autonomous asset, Lucid announces a round of layoffs, American environmental researchers are now operating in the dark, and a walkability advocate talks about the battle to transform car-centric Sunbelt cities into safe places to walk, bike and roll.
What you need to know
Ein big raise for Einride: The Swedish autonomous trucking startup raises $113 million ahead of going public via an SPAC merger. The company already operates a fleet of 200 autonomous heavy duty trucks for major brands like Heineken and PepsiCo in Europe, North America and the United Arab Emirates. It also makes self-driving pods for carrying freight.
A Harbinger of things to come: Harbinger Motors, the Southern California startup making purpose-built EV chassis for commercial fleets, acquires Phantom AI, an autonomous driving software company.
Longest EV range ever? Chinese automaker BYD unveils its newest luxury vehicle, the Denza Z9 GT. It claims it can travel 1,036 km (644 miles) on a single charge, making it the world’s longest-range EV.
Layoffs at Lucid: The Bay Area-based luxury EV maker lays off 300 employees as it tries to sustain billions in losses. Like many other U.S. automakers, Lucid faces major headwinds following the end of the EV tax credit.
Why Chinese EVs are cheaper: China’s rapidly growing EV industry has benefited from some government subsidies, but that’s not the main reason companies like BYD, Wuling and Nio are able to deliver much lower prices than western competitors. A new report by Rhodium Group says greater vertical integration, lower overhead costs and significantly cheaper R&D are much bigger factors.
In this context, it increasingly appears that trade barriers are the only thing stopping its young automakers from overtaking Western competitors on their own turf and there is almost nothing stopping them from dominating the EV transition in the Global South.
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🌟 Join the all-star line up:
- Mayor Eileen Higgins, City of Miami
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- Benjamin Limmer, CEO & Managing Director, QC MetroLINK
- Aileen Bouclé, Executive Director, Miami-Dade TPO
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What we’re reading
Can Sunbelt cities become walkable? Our own Jack Craver interviews Adam Greenfield, a UK-born advocate for walkability and human-centered infrastructure, about his valiant battle against car-centric planning in Austin, Tex. as head of Safe Streets Austin. Greenfield, whose own advocacy was prompted by a tragic experience with traffic violence, is one of the few people in Austin who chooses not to own a car but believes a future is within reach where many more are able to make the same choice.
America is done with climate data: Gretchen Gehrke, co-founder of the Environmental Data & Governance Initiative, writes in The Hill that the recent Trump administration’s recent repeal of the 16-year-old “Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding” not only strips the government’s ability to limit emissions, but blocks it from being able to gather basic data. This will come at the expense of many entities besides the federal government trying to prepare for climate change.
