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The short answer is protectionism and import restrictions. And that's not just limited to cars. But it is starting to get a bit awkward as it seems that domesti
by jillesvangurp 3y ago
The short answer is protectionism and import restrictions. And that's not just limited to cars. But it is starting to get a bit awkward as it seems that domestic producers aren't really stepping in the void created by these restrictions when it comes to EVs. The opportunity is there but nothing is happening. Why is that?
The more relevant question to ask is why American car manufacturers, with the exception of Tesla, struggle to export in volume and seem to have largely withdrawn from the international market.
I think it is simply because they are no longer competitive enough to survive without a lot of protectionist measures keeping superior products off the market. That works in the US of course. But it has also killed the export market.
The European perspective to this is that (Tesla excepted) you don't buy an American car because of performance, cost, efficiency, build quality, etc. A European might buy one because they are big, loud, and a bit obnoxious though. Seems to be a thing with some of the rich people here in Berlin certainly.
But you just don't see a lot of American cars here. When you do it's either some old sensible Ford model from when those were still being made; or an imported muscle car with some large engine making a lot of noise and smoke. I even saw an actual truck in Berlin a few months ago. These are very rare in Europe. They just aren't very practical. You can't navigate small streets with them. And nobody in their right mind would use these commercially because the fuel cost would be a big overhead. They are expensive toys but otherwise not competitive. Not even close.
- 29athrowaway 3y agoAmerican cars may not be popular in Europe but they do sell in the Asia Pacific region. The European consumer often looks after more compact, fuel efficient cars.
- tooltalk 3y ago>> American cars may not be popular in Europe but they do sell in the Asia Pacific region. << America's brands such as Buick and Cadillacs are quite popular and sell well in China via local JV where their sales are so-so in the US.
- TheLoafOfBread 3y agoWell actually European Fords are being sold, but they are not sold in USA - Ford C-Max, Ford S-Max, Ford Ka, Ford Fiesta, Ford Focus, ...
- truegoric 3y agoA little reminder that GM had produced a popular electric car in 1990s - only to kill it on their own to sustain combustion engine market domination [1]. [1] https://youtube.com/watch?v=eIHDyB9bgbA https://youtube.com/watch?v=eIHDyB9bgbA
- HDThoreaun 3y agoAmerican automakers have gone all in on pickup trucks because they are massively more profitable per unit. Ford redesigned their entire lineup to exploit fuel efficiency laws so that they can sell more pickups without paying fines because CAFE is horribly implemented. Pickup trucks are mostly popular in the US.
- tooltalk 3y ago>> American automakers have gone all in on pickup trucks because they are massively more profitable per unit. << They are massively profitable because foreign‐ made pickup trucks are subject to a 25 percent import tariff -- ie, limited competition: Since a 1964 spat over European tariffs on poultry, the US has levied a 25% tax on imported trucks, now known as the “chicken tax.” That surcharge largely cleared the road for Detroit’s truck titans — at least until Japanese brands established US factories to get around it — and today means tricky economics for any foreign automaker looking to crack the lucrative American truck market.
- daft_pink 3y agoReality is that whenever US automakers make money, the unions strike and eat up the profits, then when sales slump the companies go bankrupt. Also, the pension and healthcare costs keep expanding and expanding, so that the big 3 American automakers are not really competitive and the Japanese automakers make thousands more per vehicle. Tesla is winning, because they don't have the legacy automakers cost structure or a labor force that is taking all the money in the good times.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- soramimo 3y ago> I think it is simply because they are no longer competitive enough to survive without a lot of protectionist measures keeping superior products off the market. That works in the US of course. But it has also killed the export market. That said, it's still a reasonable strategy for the US to protect its domestic car industry from Chinese competition specifically due to open and hidden government subsidies that the Chinese government provides with the goal of owning this market segment (similar to solar panels and others). This doesn't seem unreasonable if you consider the strategic dimension of outsourcing a key industry to an authoritarian adversary. As an aside, the EU is looking into this as well [1]. [1] https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-launches-anti-subsidy-investigation-into-chinese-electric-vehicles-2023-09-13/ https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-launches-anti-subsid...