6 ms·

Chinese EV called the Seagull poses a threat to the US auto industry

22 points by geox 3y ago

jmpman 3y ago
Must be nice to be a US autoworker. Almost no US industry gets similar protections. Certainly my job isn’t protected in the same way. And yet, a base Corolla runs more than $27k out the door, and I have no choice but to buy these over prices ICE vehicles.
- throwaway5959 3y ago
  Could restructure your life to not need a car. Or buy a $12000 used Nissan Leaf. Or take the bus.
  - banish-m4 3y ago
    Zero buses where I live, chief.
    - throwaway5959 3y ago
      Not my problem, bro.
      - whatevaa 3y ago
        If you don't care about others, don't be surprised that others don't care about you, throwaway.
        deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
        banish-m4 2y ago
        Hey, I'm a throwaway too. It's just I'm too lazy to save an hn password in a password manager. Cyberdisinhibitionism is real and noxious. I guess it's the price we pay for open forums, but I do wonder what the internet would be like without pseudonyms requiring verified, real, public identification with photograph,(without the threat of government retaliation or censorship). Would "pretty" people, celebrities, the rich, and men dominate discussions?
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- hughesjj 3y ago
  Almost none, true, but Boeing is definitely on that small list. Oh and auto dealerships. Really the whole automotive industry given how much we spend on road infra. Also we give absurd amount of subsidies to the oil & gas industry. Oh yeah, tax preparation too. Really we could go on. Man, you never hear companies complaining about these kinds of economic regulations...
- fxytrain 3y ago
  We buy used recent Corollas (4-5 years) at around $25-30k in my country. If it’s cheaper than that, it’s probably a salvaged vehicle or it a stolen vehicle from Canada or something. New Corollas cost around $40-50k. The Chinese vehicles are now replacing those used cars. They cost $20-25k new and come with all the bells and whistles you wouldn’t get from Toyota. They are also assembled locally so, supports and parts are not a problem.
- dividedcomet 3y ago
  I purchased a hybrid Carolla for 24k 2 months ago, with features. I think you’re exaggerating a little. It came default with lane centering and Apple auto. For 24k for a car that can al slot drive itself, I felt like it was a screaming deal compared to any electric or ice car I could buy lol.
  - jmpman 3y ago
    Sticker price, Corolla SE, with tax, title, and registration is around $27k. Maybe it can be negotiated down.
- xenospn 3y ago
  I do believe farmers (esp. cattle farmers) are almost fully subsidized by the government and can’t fail.
- mrandish 3y ago
  > Almost no US industry gets similar protections. While that's true, few people realize just how many US industries are protected from competition by federal and state regulation and licensure requirements. These market distortions artificially inflate prices, reduce consumer choice, prevent innovation and stall new job creation (especially entry level jobs). From needing a license to shampoo hair to 600 hours of mandated training to do hair threading: https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/01/17/state-sued-over-useless-onerous-licensing-requirements-for-threaders/ https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/01/17/state-sued-over-u...
banish-m4 3y ago
It's absolutely not a threat if it cannot be purchased or registered in the US because it lacks certified homologation for road use.
- cced 3y ago
  You’re assuming those two are separate? Why get certified when the host country imposes a 100% tariff?
  - banish-m4 2y ago
    I think maybe you're confused. You can't legally drive some random foreign vehicle on the road in any US state without getting it through homologation and registration. Very few Chinese EV manufacturers did that before, but now other manufacturers certainly aren't going to now. So only rich American assholes who are willing to pay stupid amounts of money for specialty shops to bring random foreign vehicles into compliance for road use who will have Chinese EVs, or they'll simply buy them for use on private property only.
enceladus06 3y ago
We can’t buy these or the Toyota Hilux in the USA bc of political reasons. American Automakers are not competitive anymore…so we need tariffs apparently. Ford would rather one spend 60k on a full sized pickup and finance it at an ungodly high interest rate.
- iancmceachern 3y ago
  A new f150 base is 36k, hilux is 25 base, they both go up to similar highs. The interest rate thing is wrong, you can finance them for lower interest rates than most houses and educations. They're even often at 0%. The other thing to factor in is resale. If you factor in the resale the total cost of ownership for many American trucks is less than most other vehicles.
  - ein0p 3y ago
    0% where? The lowest I see is like 4.99%. Aside from the Tesla Model Y which is de-facto on sale right now.
    - iancmceachern 3y ago
      You can get 1.9% from Ford right now: https://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/pricing-and-incentives/ https://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/pricing-and-incentives/ When rates were lower you could get 0% with a low down payment even.
      - ein0p 3y ago
        Those rates aren’t coming back though.
    - SkyPuncher 3y ago
      Ford currently has several vehicles with 0% interest options. Pretty sure the f150 XLT trim was offering 0% somewhat recently
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
gamblor956 3y ago
This car would not even have been road worthy in the US or Europe in the 1990s. It's easy to make cheap cars when you leave out several decades of safety features.
- stubish 3y ago
  The Seagull, maybe not. But BYD already own the EV market in other countries with strict safety restrictions such as Australia, selling their pricier models. Price wise these are still comparable only with other Chinese manufactured cars such as Ora and MG. It will be the same in the US, without trade restrictions getting in the way.
- __m 3y ago
  Which safety features are missing in this model?
- alamortsubite 3y ago
  The expert quoted by the AP says changes to allow homologation for road use in US would only add a couple thousand dollars to the price tag. Unless your definition of "cheap" is extremely narrow, you might want to read TFA to get an understanding of why this vehicle is so inexpensive.
moritz64 3y ago
Ironic that a long time ago there already was a car from the east called Seagull https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GAZ_Chaika https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GAZ_Chaika
adriancr 3y ago
this just seems like advertising under disguise. This is a more expensive crappier dacia spring, why is it reported as a threat?, It's not even launched yet and other articles are more balanced and mention existing competition as well: https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/byd/362943/new-byd-seagull-will-come-uk-2025-rival-dacia-spring https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/byd/362943/new-byd-seagull-wil...

22 points by geox 3y ago

Must be nice to be a US autoworker. Almost no US industry gets similar protections. Certainly my job isn’t protected in the same way. And yet, a base Corolla runs more than $27k out the door, and I have no choice but to buy these over prices ICE vehicles.

throwaway5959 3y ago
Could restructure your life to not need a car. Or buy a $12000 used Nissan Leaf. Or take the bus.
- banish-m4 3y ago
  Zero buses where I live, chief.
  - throwaway5959 3y ago
    Not my problem, bro.
    - whatevaa 3y ago
      If you don't care about others, don't be surprised that others don't care about you, throwaway.
      - deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
      - banish-m4 2y ago
        Hey, I'm a throwaway too. It's just I'm too lazy to save an hn password in a password manager. Cyberdisinhibitionism is real and noxious. I guess it's the price we pay for open forums, but I do wonder what the internet would be like without pseudonyms requiring verified, real, public identification with photograph,(without the threat of government retaliation or censorship). Would "pretty" people, celebrities, the rich, and men dominate discussions?
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
hughesjj 3y ago
Almost none, true, but Boeing is definitely on that small list. Oh and auto dealerships. Really the whole automotive industry given how much we spend on road infra. Also we give absurd amount of subsidies to the oil & gas industry. Oh yeah, tax preparation too. Really we could go on. Man, you never hear companies complaining about these kinds of economic regulations...
fxytrain 3y ago
We buy used recent Corollas (4-5 years) at around $25-30k in my country. If it’s cheaper than that, it’s probably a salvaged vehicle or it a stolen vehicle from Canada or something. New Corollas cost around $40-50k. The Chinese vehicles are now replacing those used cars. They cost $20-25k new and come with all the bells and whistles you wouldn’t get from Toyota. They are also assembled locally so, supports and parts are not a problem.
dividedcomet 3y ago
I purchased a hybrid Carolla for 24k 2 months ago, with features. I think you’re exaggerating a little. It came default with lane centering and Apple auto. For 24k for a car that can al slot drive itself, I felt like it was a screaming deal compared to any electric or ice car I could buy lol.
- jmpman 3y ago
  Sticker price, Corolla SE, with tax, title, and registration is around $27k. Maybe it can be negotiated down.
xenospn 3y ago
I do believe farmers (esp. cattle farmers) are almost fully subsidized by the government and can’t fail.
mrandish 3y ago
> Almost no US industry gets similar protections. While that's true, few people realize just how many US industries are protected from competition by federal and state regulation and licensure requirements. These market distortions artificially inflate prices, reduce consumer choice, prevent innovation and stall new job creation (especially entry level jobs). From needing a license to shampoo hair to 600 hours of mandated training to do hair threading: https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/01/17/state-sued-over-useless-onerous-licensing-requirements-for-threaders/ https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/01/17/state-sued-over-u...

banish-m4 3y ago

It's absolutely not a threat if it cannot be purchased or registered in the US because it lacks certified homologation for road use.

cced 3y ago
You’re assuming those two are separate? Why get certified when the host country imposes a 100% tariff?
- banish-m4 2y ago
  I think maybe you're confused. You can't legally drive some random foreign vehicle on the road in any US state without getting it through homologation and registration. Very few Chinese EV manufacturers did that before, but now other manufacturers certainly aren't going to now. So only rich American assholes who are willing to pay stupid amounts of money for specialty shops to bring random foreign vehicles into compliance for road use who will have Chinese EVs, or they'll simply buy them for use on private property only.

enceladus06 3y ago

We can’t buy these or the Toyota Hilux in the USA bc of political reasons. American Automakers are not competitive anymore…so we need tariffs apparently. Ford would rather one spend 60k on a full sized pickup and finance it at an ungodly high interest rate.

iancmceachern 3y ago
A new f150 base is 36k, hilux is 25 base, they both go up to similar highs. The interest rate thing is wrong, you can finance them for lower interest rates than most houses and educations. They're even often at 0%. The other thing to factor in is resale. If you factor in the resale the total cost of ownership for many American trucks is less than most other vehicles.
- ein0p 3y ago
  0% where? The lowest I see is like 4.99%. Aside from the Tesla Model Y which is de-facto on sale right now.
  - iancmceachern 3y ago
    You can get 1.9% from Ford right now: https://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/pricing-and-incentives/ https://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/pricing-and-incentives/ When rates were lower you could get 0% with a low down payment even.
    - ein0p 3y ago
      Those rates aren’t coming back though.
  - SkyPuncher 3y ago
    Ford currently has several vehicles with 0% interest options. Pretty sure the f150 XLT trim was offering 0% somewhat recently
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]

gamblor956 3y ago

This car would not even have been road worthy in the US or Europe in the 1990s. It's easy to make cheap cars when you leave out several decades of safety features.

stubish 3y ago
The Seagull, maybe not. But BYD already own the EV market in other countries with strict safety restrictions such as Australia, selling their pricier models. Price wise these are still comparable only with other Chinese manufactured cars such as Ora and MG. It will be the same in the US, without trade restrictions getting in the way.
__m 3y ago
Which safety features are missing in this model?
alamortsubite 3y ago
The expert quoted by the AP says changes to allow homologation for road use in US would only add a couple thousand dollars to the price tag. Unless your definition of "cheap" is extremely narrow, you might want to read TFA to get an understanding of why this vehicle is so inexpensive.

moritz64 3y ago

Ironic that a long time ago there already was a car from the east called Seagull https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GAZ_Chaika https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GAZ_Chaika

adriancr 3y ago

this just seems like advertising under disguise. This is a more expensive crappier dacia spring, why is it reported as a threat?, It's not even launched yet and other articles are more balanced and mention existing competition as well: https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/byd/362943/new-byd-seagull-will-come-uk-2025-rival-dacia-spring https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/byd/362943/new-byd-seagull-wil...