this post was submitted on 04 Oct 2024
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[–] [email protected] 82 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

Once again ordinary people in the West are saved from affordable, low-pollution living. And Western companies are saved from having to compete.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (4 children)

That's catchy, but not entirely true.

China heavily subsidizes EV manufacturers (and production in general), plus they have cheaper environmental and labour standards... it's not like there's a fair market EU companies can compete in without some sort of handicap.

PS: Yes, "western" countries have been playing along with China's deliberate long term strategy with full awareness of where it would lead, but that's another story that is both much older and has a much broader scope than the EV industry.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

China heavily subsidizes EV manufacturers (and production in general), plus they have cheaper environmental and labour standards… it’s not like there’s a fair market EU companies can compete in without some sort of handicap.

Hah. Volkswagen is in trouble right now because they fucked up the transition to electric cars completly. What do you think will happen now? That's right, we the (German) people will have to save them now, with our money. Basically the same shit as a subsidy, just later in the process. Kinda like what the Chinese do, just the really stupid way.

Oh, and of course, it will be everybody's fault but their own.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 months ago (4 children)

China heavily subsidizes EV manufacturers (and production in general)

And that's a bad thing? Any sensible government is going to subsidise renewable energy and electric vehicles. It makes both economic and environmental sense. Anyone not doing this is an idiot and a climate terrorist.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago (8 children)

Can you explain to us what the problem with China subsidizing EV manufacturers is exactly? That's how China chooses to run their economy, and it's entirely their business. The whole argument for capitalist markets is that they're supposed to be more competitive last I checked. If that's not the case then maybe the west should reexamine its assumptions about how an economy should be run.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

It is massively clownish though because as the barrier to entry goes up higher everyone will just switch to micromobility which is built mostly by the Chinese

[–] [email protected] 38 points 2 months ago (2 children)

is this the famous "invisible hand of the market"?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

Is your argument pro market regulation or against market regulation or just there to stir up shit?

The EU is a heavily regulated market economy. Broadly that creates better outcomes and higher levels of happiness for its citizens.

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[–] [email protected] 37 points 2 months ago (27 children)

Competition is good! Unless it makes shareholders sad.

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 2 months ago (13 children)

I'm so confused here. I was under the impression that the entire argument for capitalist markets was that they produce cheaper and better goods than is possible to do with central state planning. Yet, here we have the capitalist west complaining that Chinese state driven model if producing goods that western companies are simply not able to compete with. Somebody help me understand.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 months ago

Capitalists hate capitalism. Competition is so irritating, because someone might undercut you. (And other people would cheat to win, just like you would, so you can't ever relax.)

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Politicians be like

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Yay, no punishment for the european brands. What they were doing, slept?

[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 months ago (11 children)

Germany is upset about this because they sell cars to China. This will probable create Chinese counter tariffs on European cars.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

because they sell cars to China

For how much longer? Can German cars even still compete with the Chinese, or has that ship sailed already? Come, buy the best engineering of yesteryear! Yay!

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 months ago

Awww what's da madder widdle capitalist can't compete with a state run economy??

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago

I assume this doesn't apply to Chinese parts used to manufacturer electric cars in the EU

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

@geneva_convenience It's exactly the same that also happened several years ago between the US and the EU concerning civil planes. Here Boeing and Airbus compete against each other - and the US had the assumption, that the EU subsidized Airbus so that Boeing couldn't compete. Because of that the US thought about tariffs that would have countered this.

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