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A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

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1329 points kwindla | 9 comments | 25 Apr 25 15:01 UTC | HN request time: 0.544s | source | bottom
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resters ◴[25 Apr 25 22:17 UTC] No.43799015[source]▶
This is extremely refreshing. I think that it would be possible to make something like this in the US for under $15K even. Cars and trucks are so over-engineered and come with tons of low value options intended to drive up the price.

For a case in point, consider that headlights that turn on and off automatically in response to darkness (or rain) are not a standard feature on many cars, yet they include a manual switch that costs more than a photosensor only because of the trim-level upgrades.

Cars could include a slot for a tablet but instead come with overpriced car stereos and infotainment systems that are always light years worse than the most amateurish apps on any mobile app store.

As should be very clear by now after the 2008 US auto industry bailouts and the 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs, the US auto industry is heavily protected and faces virtually no competition, which is why a common sense vehicle like the one in the article sounds revolutionary, though I imagine BYD could deliver something a lot more impressive for $10K if allowed to compete in the US without tariffs.

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1. seanmcdirmid ◴[25 Apr 25 22:39 UTC] No.43799147[source]▶
BYD could totally avoid the tariffs by making in the USA (well, they were planning a factory in Mexico, and tariffs on car parts will kill that if something doesn’t change). They already set up a bus factory in SoCal. My guess is that Chinese automakers are still hesitant about introducing their brands to Americans given politics (Volvo and Polestar are Chinese owned but I think the design is still mainly done in Sweden?).

Japanese, Korean, and European brands already make a lot of vehicles to get around tariffs, although it makes sense for some sedans to be made abroad given American lack of interest in them (so economy of scales doesn’t work out), and sedans typically not being tariffed as harshly as trucks.

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2. worik ◴[25 Apr 25 22:49 UTC] No.43799215[source]▶
> BYD could totally avoid the tariffs by making in the USA

Or concentrate on the 80% of the worldmarket that is not the USA

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3. stevage ◴[25 Apr 25 23:21 UTC] No.43799408[source]▶
They're very popular in Australia.
4. hansworst ◴[26 Apr 25 00:22 UTC] No.43799774[source]▶
Wouldn’t they still need to pay tariffs on all the parts they manufacture in china? Maybe I’m misunderstanding the tariffs but it sounds like Chinese companies would have to build completely separate supply chains to keep the US market
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5. resters ◴[26 Apr 25 02:39 UTC] No.43800438[source]▶
Companies spending money to navigate tariff regimes adds tremendous cost and inefficiency that makes everyone worse off.
6. aurareturn ◴[26 Apr 25 03:52 UTC] No.43800797[source]▶

  BYD could totally avoid the tariffs by making in the USA (well, they were planning a factory in Mexico, and tariffs on car parts will kill that if something doesn’t change). They already set up a bus factory in SoCal. My guess is that Chinese automakers are still hesitant about introducing their brands to Americans given politics (Volvo and Polestar are Chinese owned but I think the design is still mainly done in Sweden?).
Yea you nailed it in the end. No way BYD would invest in a factory when the entire government and media are anti-China and could expel you out of the country any moment. The US is not predictable for businesses and investments right now.
7. newuser94303 ◴[26 Apr 25 03:58 UTC] No.43800828[source]▶
Chinese investment in the US is inherently risky. For example TikTok. BYD would be stomping GM and Ford. The next thing you know, they would need to sell their factory.
8. seanmcdirmid ◴[26 Apr 25 04:38 UTC] No.43800986[source]▶
Before no, or at least not very high tariffs. Now I have no idea, Trump’s story changes daily. However lots of US made autos are using Chinese parts so they are all affected to some degree.
9. seanmcdirmid ◴[26 Apr 25 18:24 UTC] No.43805960[source]▶
Ya, this only applies if they even want to sell passenger cars in the USA. They definitely don’t have to.