cross-posted from : https://lemmy.zip/post/60717426
China’s EV manufacturers have a new target market in mind: commercial trucks.
Europe’s legacy heavy-duty trucking segment could soon face some serious competition.
Trucks built by Chinese automakers could beat out current battery-electric truck prices by 30%.
Contrary to what the other comments seem to suggest all the big European truck makers have good electric truck options that are already being sold and used. This isn’t about innovation, it’s about price. The Chinese trucks aren’t better, they’re cheaper. In fact, the Windrose truck seems very much worse than the European options for the truck driver, as it’s useability isn’t great. But that’s because it’s designed to be cheap, with the drivers seat in the middle for example, so they can sell the same model in right hand drive and left hand drive markets. So this isn’t about truck makers who have been sleeping, it’s about truck makers suddenly being confronted with prices they simply can’t compete with.
it’s about truck makers suddenly being confronted with prices they simply can’t compete with.
Exactly. It is quite absurd: our products are more expensive because, i.a., we have put limits to the exploitation of workers.
Yet, you have those that normally should be very much pro workers’ rights being the one singing the praises constantly for China.
Our companies could of course keep up: by also moving production to a country where there’s as little ‘obstacles’ in the way for profits, as in limits to the exploitation of the worker. No more production under the conditions European workers fought for, but a race to the bottom for the cheapest conditions. Sounds great! /s
that may be some of the reason but China’s move to automation and robotics means they’ve made incredible jumps in productivity.
An example
Unions while important work to ensure they protect jobs and better their employees safety and well being, they’re typically super conservative (in the sense of things wanting to stay the same) instead of being part of the broader solution around how to share productivity gains more equally amongst the wider population.
Yeah I’m surprised by everyone here. European Truck companies are famously top tier and have been innovating a lot.
You guys sat on your ass and raked in the money, knowing for at least 15 years what China was up to. Yet you chose to not use your money, knowledge and infrastructure to change and innovate.
You chose to “lobby” conservative politicians to simplify
theyour rules, keep the money flowing and not change a thing. Anything to keep the gravy train running.Now the jig is up and all you can do is whine and complain about how unfair it all is.
What you guys need is a good hard kick in the ass. Get to work now. Hard at work. And if you fail, well, we’ll write you a short and acerbic obituary.
Rather ignorant take to be honest.
This is not about innovation. Its about price. European trucks are so much better with driver comfort and driver aids than anything I’ve seen. I go to 2-3 truck shows per year and all the non-EU stuff is still a bit “nasty” at best and horrible at worst in quality and comfort.
The problem is, China doesn’t have the same workers protection and benefits to deal with as EU companies. EU makes better products but at a higher price. I hope we don’t go to the American way of big trucking companies not giving a shit about the comfort and welfare of their drivers. Maybe the EU needs to take some action and subsidize EU made truck purchases or something, I don’t know. The attraction of saving tens of thousands of €'s on a single truck purchase is probably very tempting to the trucking companies, even if the real cost is drivers being miserable.
Rather onesided take to be honest.
If European automotive companies would’ve led on EV development, there wouldn’t have been space for China to compete on price.
Yeah, I’ll admit it was a one sided take, I’m a truck driver so I look at it from a drivers point of view. If I have to sit in a cab for 9-11 hours per day and then sleep in it, I’ll always choose a Euro model.
And the fact is, Chinese products will always be cheaper than European ones, manufacturing costs are wildly different between the places. Euro EV trucks have excellent tech in them, maybe the actual manufacturing pace is lagging behind thats true. But even if we had switched to making only EV trucks, the price difference would still be there.
That is exactly not the problem. For decades the European automotive industry hasn’t competed on price. It hasn’t ever since the Koreans and Japanese showed up, a long time ago.
European OEMs competed on quality and technology. It made them rich and powerful. That’s why you prefer European cars. They’re just superior.
They gave that edge away by not leading on EVs and remaining stuck with ICE.
That enabled China to compete first on technology, because demand for EVs soared and European OEMs couldn’t deliver. That cashflow then enabled China to also -almost- compete on quality. And yes, then the price aspect sets in: superior tech, competitive quality at lower prices. Hard to compete with that.
But it’s of European OEMs own making. Price is a part, but not the most important. European OEMs didn’t pay attention and let the door open. Then they had their lunch stolen. Tough luck.
In what way, specifically, are Chinese EV trucks better than European ones?
Honda has entered the room with its dying commitment to internal combustion.
Too fucking bad. Their only option would be to suck it up and get in the fucking game. The market does not give a shit about their sorry ass excuse.
China is about to have much cheaper energy with their push for renewables. They will be able to offer everything for much less.
Maybe make the better thing instead of caving to the US’s insistence on idiotic oil-fueled stupidity?
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