←back to thread

Falling panel prices lead to global solar boom, except for the US

(arstechnica.com)
249 points Jtsummers | 2 comments | 30 Oct 25 16:32 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source
Show context
softwaredoug ◴[30 Oct 25 17:18 UTC] No.45762476[source]▶
By not aligning economically to other country's markets, US companies are in a real pickle.

Imagine you're a US car manufacturer. You see EVs growing around the world, and stagnating in the US. Do you:

(a) Double-down on investments in EVs (billions of USD!), even with a soft US market for EVs, hoping you might compete globally.

(b) Become a parochial, US-only, business hoping to squeeze what you can out of a gradually shrinking industry

When other countries subsidize consumers to buy EVs, and the US does not, it effectively creates a self-own trade barrier for domestic companies.

replies(6): >>45762652 #>>45762664 #>>45762693 #>>45763041 #>>45763430 #>>45763513 #
Sevii ◴[30 Oct 25 17:32 UTC] No.45762664[source]▶
Do US car companies compete globally anywhere? Chinese people aren't buying GM cars. The US car industry hasn't been competitive globally since Toyota started making cars.
replies(5): >>45762758 #>>45762899 #>>45762915 #>>45763723 #>>45769469 #
1. kevstev ◴[30 Oct 25 17:50 UTC] No.45762899[source]▶
GM sold 4M cars in China in 2017, its peak year. While BYD is indeed eating their lunch, they still sold 1.8M cars in China last year: https://stockdividendscreener.com/auto-manufacturers/gm-chin...

American brands were considered prestigious as I understand it.

replies(1): >>45763621 #
2. alephnerd ◴[30 Oct 25 18:40 UTC] No.45763621[source]▶
> American brands were considered prestigious as I understand it.

For automotive, kind of but not really (excluding Tesla).

Volkswagen Group was the primary foreign manufacturer that was also a status symbol in China.