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>Then I think you see an early indication not just of electric car dominance, but of the (very potential) rise of China as the premier automotive super power.
by protocolture 9mo ago
>Then I think you see an early indication not just of electric car dominance, but of the (very potential) rise of China as the premier automotive super power.
I thought we were there already tbh. Chinese cars have gone from laughably bad to quality parity in less than a decade. Like even 2 years ago, I was still hearing "the paint the paint" as the last remaining issue. But I dont hear that anymore.
- irjustin 9mo agoIn terms of quality they are there, now it's expansion. I, for one, am quite excited for all this competition. I don't care who makes my level 4/5 self driver, I just want it now.
- msy 9mo agoParity? Their EVs are streets ahead, doubly so for the price.
- protocolture 9mo agoI dont drive one of their EV's, but the 20+ year veteran Diesel Engineer who took my DPF filter complaint escalation does and thats really all I need to know. After I run my current vehicle into the ground, that will probably be next.
- fy20 9mo agoSimilar story here. I know a guy who does chip tuning as his career. He bought a Tesla last year, and he's more than happy with it.
- IrishTechie 9mo agoOther than price, in what ways are they streets ahead? I’m a bit of an EV nerd and that would not be my assessment at all. Unfortunately for Western manufacturers price/volume is probably the most important thing right now, so they are still in serious trouble.
- KoolKat23 9mo agoWell the software for one (excluding Tesla), it's faster, more advanced, more creative (probably more gimmicks but still). Domestically (in China) they also offer much higher charging wattage. But yes quality is at parity and they're cheaper.
- formerly_proven 9mo agoMost Chinese cars still have massive software quality issues that you don’t hear about because there are few of them around here. ADAS are usually much worse as well.
- protocolture 9mo agoMy biggest software issue with my GWM relates to how they gamed the DPF, which is a local requirement. They built in the required automaticaly regenerating DPF, but also set the temperature/rev requirement so that it never automatically regenerates (even if it indicates it is doing so). So I have to manually regenerate every other month. Otherwise the software is pretty good, with the occasional midflight reboot.Its definitely no worse than the honda I ran previously.
- epolanski 9mo agoInteriors imho. Their interiors on midrange+ vehicles seems leagues ahead of European automakers. A 100k+ euros Mercedes Benz E class doesn't even get you real leather from a decade (by the way I prefer MB tex, but what are you paying for exactly?).
- petre 9mo agoHave you seen the paint schemes on new Chinese cars? Wow. Embedded glitter, chameleon colors, while the European car industry is doing boring primer like paint schemes. I always joke that they applied clear coat onto primer. And that's on >60k models.
- pjc50 9mo agoThe "greige" colour appalls me. Not only does it look like primer, it looks like the grey of old PC cases under a brown of smoke. Either basic white or basic black would be better. Or classic metallic silver.
- maldev 9mo agoHave you ever ridden in a BYD? It's super loud, horrible suspension, seats are extremely uncomfy, everything is cheap with a fancy looking facade. If you need a car to go from point A - B and can't afford any luxury, it's fine. But it's a bare minimum vehicle with looks to appeal to status.
- hliyan 9mo agoI have ridden in a BYD and it was the opposite experience: excellent suspension, unusually smooth ride, great seats. A few things on the dashboard did look a bit tacky. But overall, massive difference from where Chinese cars were even 5 years ago.
- xenospn 9mo agoMost of what you’re describing applies to Teslas too, tho.
- protocolture 9mo agoHavent ridden in a BYD, but I absolutely abhor the Tesla interior, its like riding around in a rickety iPad. BYD's seem (super subjective) to make less road noise outside of the vehicle. I still get snuck up on by them in car parks, but I have tuned in to the Tesla hum and can hear them a while off.
- martinpw 9mo agoI think you are a few years out of date. Certainly they used to be not great. They are way better now.
- prmoustache 9mo agoTesla has shown that you can buy usd100K cars with dubious quality and terrible materials. That makes it easier for brands who sell cheaper models imho. It is all about status, and right now having an EV and a fricking 17" TV on the dashboard trumps everything else.
- muzani 9mo agoReplying from a BYD now. I wish HN could attach photos. It's literally quieter than a bicycle, except for a whirring when the car powers up. We've come across people and animals standing in the middle of the road because they didn't realize the car was right behind them. Soundproofing is good too. It comes with karaoke built in and it's more sound proof than many karaoke rooms. Suspension is much better than my previous car but I'll reserve judgement until it's also 5 years old. Seats are comfortable enough to sleep in - some people are even using it as an alternative to a hotel, because you can keep the air-conditioning on all night and the seats go all the way down to a horizontal position. There's a window up top so you can watch the stars at night too. Also the seats have air-conditioning in case your back is hot too.