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I'm sorry to be that guy, but can we reintroduce a good dose of skepticism in our mental diets? BYD was already selling a ton of cars when the oil prices were

I'm sorry to be that guy, but can we reintroduce a good dose of skepticism in our mental diets? BYD was already selling a ton of cars when the oil prices were "low", of course there's some very creative accounting business moves you would expect from a Chinese company like BYD ( companies from other places have their own peculiarities too ). Gas prices have been "sky high" for a week and people who are under financial stress just decided to ditch their cars and buy a brand new BYD? Are we children now? listening bedtime stories? The concept of electric vehicle is technically superior to support the context and lifestyle a large majority of people have. It will "win" over time. There is no need to this bullshit simplistic feel-good articles. Btw, the the market movements of people trying to get rid of their gas-guzzling SUVs when prices are high and trade them for a smaller and more economical car ( what they should have been doing in the first place.. ) already happened in the past many times, there is no news here. But these movements don't happen in a time span of a week or a couple weeks. Sorry for the rant, but between AI's "Absolutely, you're entirely right!" and these bullshit articles.. I don't know. To be clear: EV's will "win" and BYD has been selling a ton of cars because they are cheap and not terrible right out of the gate, also people don't have much disposable income.

Tiktaalik 7mo ago
> Gas prices have been "sky high" for a week and people who are under financial stress just decided to ditch their cars and buy a brand new BYD? Are we children now? listening bedtime stories? The situation is something that makes people pause for a second. Like everyone knows that EVs are the future, but when gas is fine, status quo fine, that future can be a fuzzy thing in the distance and it's really easy to shut off your brain, live in the present, and not really do any thinking and just go through the motions. A sudden oil shock puts the issue of EVs on the front burner and gives people reason to think about things for a moment.
bdcravens 7mo ago
Very true. It's not like EV owners were feeling regret when gas hit the (mythical ) $2/gallon. Honestly, while it's fun to know I've "saved" $5k or so in gas costs during the 4 years I've owned my EV, if saving money was my only goal, I would have paid cash for a slightly used efficient four cylinder gas car.
- mikestew 7mo ago
  It's not like EV owners were feeling regret when gas hit the (mythical ) $2/gallon. Gas could be free, and I'd still have no regrets. Because an EV is simply the better vehicle. And I think after over a decade of mass-produced EVs that maybe it's time to get away from "saves on gas" or "good for the environment", and maybe start marketing as "full every time you pull out of the garage", or something. Kind of like Mazda's old commercials for their Wankel engine cars: "piston engine goes 'boing', but the Mazda goes 'hmmmmm'". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHzeGEHWMjo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHzeGEHWMjo
  - macintux 7mo ago
    I'd be more interested in EVs if they didn't come with significant privacy and complexity trade-offs. I don't want a door handle that can't open in an emergency. I don't want my vehicle constantly phoning home to the mothership (sadly I have to deal with that today, I really need to go disable that functionality). I certainly don't want a touchscreen through which all controls are routed. I have a 20-year-old Jeep with significant mechanical problems; I should really convert it to a BEV.
    - mikestew 7mo ago
      I'd be more interested in EVs if they didn't come with significant privacy and complexity trade-offs. You're going to be really disappointed when you go to look at new ICE vehicles. This "EVs are a privacy nightmare!" trope needs to die, all cars do that now. I don't want a door handle that can't open in an emergency. Only one car manufacturer to my knowledge has that problem, just don't buy one of those. Again, nothing to do with electric cars. I certainly don't want a touchscreen through which all controls are routed. So far, other than the poorly-designed door handles of one manufacturer, nothing you've listed is unique to EVs. All you've done is describe "most new cars".
      - macintux 7mo ago
        I understand modern vehicles are like that, hence my complaint about my current one. But, by definition, most EVs are modern. That's not true of ICE vehicles, hence the tradeoffs.
nico 7mo ago
> Gas prices have been "sky high" for a week and people who are under financial stress just decided to ditch their cars and buy a brand new BYD? Are we children now? listening bedtime stories? Have you actually seen the news and the situation? Gas prices will continue to rise and will stay high for at least 3-5 years, given the damaged infrastructure and how long it will take to rebuild. And that's if nothing else happens, so the situation could get a lot worse This means 2 things: 1) it might be a better alternative to drive electric (depends on the numbers), and 2) if enough people start preferring EVs, prices for EVs might spike in the next 1-2 years. So buying now could be a good move depending on how things turn out
- caminante 7mo ago
  > Have you actually seen the news and the situation? Have you seen what's happened to wholesale power market prices? Have you seen that BYD's care sales in 2026 are down y/y? Trusting anecdotal hype from BYD salesmen and a renewables blog isn't sensible.
  - nico 7mo ago
    I wasn't talking about BYD in particular, nor referencing any numbers or quotes from the blog. I was responding to the above comment mocking/doubting people's decisions about EV purchases and showing how that contrasts with the current macro situation Feel free to expand on the wholesale power market prices you are referring to though, not sure what your take is
    - caminante 7mo ago
      > I wasn't talking about BYD in particular, You quoted the parent's mention of BYD.
  - mbgerring 7mo ago
    Wholesale power market prices are responding to shocks in the natural gas market from two wars that disrupted those supply chains. Solar and batteries have been and will continue to he the cheapest source of power, and globally, deployment is accelerating. Not so much in the US, where our braindead political culture is intent on ignoring the obvious economic advantage of renewables, but definitely everywhere else in the world.
caminante 7mo ago
This article is anecdotal with quotes from a BYD salesman about their product, and it doesn't mention that BYD's sales are down in Jan-Feb. 2026 (-36% y/y). electrek.co is a renewables (biased) blog.
rossjudson 7mo ago
I see no reason to downvote this, so I upvote it. I think you're missing something. This war is an inflection point. Consumer behavior is likely to change after it. So yes, this is just a transient thing...but I think the effects will be permanent.
Underphil 7mo ago
At any one time I would assume there are thousands of people in the world who are replacing their existing vehicle right at this very moment for normal reasons.
jancsika 7mo ago
> I'm sorry to be that guy, but can we reintroduce a good dose of skepticism in our mental diets? Of headlines? Always. Of the content of the article? Not without you providing counterevidence. Speaking of the content: * BYD has seen an uptick in demand for EVs * "At one [BYD] dealership in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, demand is so high that it booked a month’s worth of orders in just the past two weeks" * another dealership nearby had to hire more salespeople * small uptick from Edmunds for people researching EVs in relevant period[1] 1: https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/electrified-vehicle-research-gas-prices-data.html https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/electrified-vehicle-researc...
tencentshill 7mo ago
Just be aware of journalists relating 2 unrelated things happening at the same time using "among" and "as" and discount the article accordingly. If you didn't pay money for the article, they will utilize click and engagement bait. Of course a week of increased oil prices hasn't changed any measurable purchasing patterns as the title implies.
ZeroGravitas 7mo ago
> Gas prices have been "sky high" for a week and people who are under financial stress just decided to ditch their cars and buy a brand new BYD? Or, America's "No War" candidate is starting wars in the middle east with no plan. It's co-belligerant is targeting oil production facilities, and the defender is responding by taking out refinery capacity in the area. Markets are predicting higher fuel costs for years. That seems a reasonable time for a bump in EV sales interest.

Tiktaalik 7mo ago

> Gas prices have been "sky high" for a week and people who are under financial stress just decided to ditch their cars and buy a brand new BYD? Are we children now? listening bedtime stories? The situation is something that makes people pause for a second. Like everyone knows that EVs are the future, but when gas is fine, status quo fine, that future can be a fuzzy thing in the distance and it's really easy to shut off your brain, live in the present, and not really do any thinking and just go through the motions. A sudden oil shock puts the issue of EVs on the front burner and gives people reason to think about things for a moment.

bdcravens 7mo ago

Very true. It's not like EV owners were feeling regret when gas hit the (mythical ) $2/gallon. Honestly, while it's fun to know I've "saved" $5k or so in gas costs during the 4 years I've owned my EV, if saving money was my only goal, I would have paid cash for a slightly used efficient four cylinder gas car.

mikestew 7mo ago
It's not like EV owners were feeling regret when gas hit the (mythical ) $2/gallon. Gas could be free, and I'd still have no regrets. Because an EV is simply the better vehicle. And I think after over a decade of mass-produced EVs that maybe it's time to get away from "saves on gas" or "good for the environment", and maybe start marketing as "full every time you pull out of the garage", or something. Kind of like Mazda's old commercials for their Wankel engine cars: "piston engine goes 'boing', but the Mazda goes 'hmmmmm'". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHzeGEHWMjo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHzeGEHWMjo
- macintux 7mo ago
  I'd be more interested in EVs if they didn't come with significant privacy and complexity trade-offs. I don't want a door handle that can't open in an emergency. I don't want my vehicle constantly phoning home to the mothership (sadly I have to deal with that today, I really need to go disable that functionality). I certainly don't want a touchscreen through which all controls are routed. I have a 20-year-old Jeep with significant mechanical problems; I should really convert it to a BEV.
  - mikestew 7mo ago
    I'd be more interested in EVs if they didn't come with significant privacy and complexity trade-offs. You're going to be really disappointed when you go to look at new ICE vehicles. This "EVs are a privacy nightmare!" trope needs to die, all cars do that now. I don't want a door handle that can't open in an emergency. Only one car manufacturer to my knowledge has that problem, just don't buy one of those. Again, nothing to do with electric cars. I certainly don't want a touchscreen through which all controls are routed. So far, other than the poorly-designed door handles of one manufacturer, nothing you've listed is unique to EVs. All you've done is describe "most new cars".
    - macintux 7mo ago
      I understand modern vehicles are like that, hence my complaint about my current one. But, by definition, most EVs are modern. That's not true of ICE vehicles, hence the tradeoffs.

nico 7mo ago

> Gas prices have been "sky high" for a week and people who are under financial stress just decided to ditch their cars and buy a brand new BYD? Are we children now? listening bedtime stories? Have you actually seen the news and the situation? Gas prices will continue to rise and will stay high for at least 3-5 years, given the damaged infrastructure and how long it will take to rebuild. And that's if nothing else happens, so the situation could get a lot worse This means 2 things: 1) it might be a better alternative to drive electric (depends on the numbers), and 2) if enough people start preferring EVs, prices for EVs might spike in the next 1-2 years. So buying now could be a good move depending on how things turn out

caminante 7mo ago
> Have you actually seen the news and the situation? Have you seen what's happened to wholesale power market prices? Have you seen that BYD's care sales in 2026 are down y/y? Trusting anecdotal hype from BYD salesmen and a renewables blog isn't sensible.
- nico 7mo ago
  I wasn't talking about BYD in particular, nor referencing any numbers or quotes from the blog. I was responding to the above comment mocking/doubting people's decisions about EV purchases and showing how that contrasts with the current macro situation Feel free to expand on the wholesale power market prices you are referring to though, not sure what your take is
  - caminante 7mo ago
    > I wasn't talking about BYD in particular, You quoted the parent's mention of BYD.
- mbgerring 7mo ago
  Wholesale power market prices are responding to shocks in the natural gas market from two wars that disrupted those supply chains. Solar and batteries have been and will continue to he the cheapest source of power, and globally, deployment is accelerating. Not so much in the US, where our braindead political culture is intent on ignoring the obvious economic advantage of renewables, but definitely everywhere else in the world.

caminante 7mo ago

This article is anecdotal with quotes from a BYD salesman about their product, and it doesn't mention that BYD's sales are down in Jan-Feb. 2026 (-36% y/y). electrek.co is a renewables (biased) blog.

rossjudson 7mo ago

I see no reason to downvote this, so I upvote it. I think you're missing something. This war is an inflection point. Consumer behavior is likely to change after it. So yes, this is just a transient thing...but I think the effects will be permanent.

Underphil 7mo ago

At any one time I would assume there are thousands of people in the world who are replacing their existing vehicle right at this very moment for normal reasons.

jancsika 7mo ago

> I'm sorry to be that guy, but can we reintroduce a good dose of skepticism in our mental diets? Of headlines? Always. Of the content of the article? Not without you providing counterevidence. Speaking of the content: * BYD has seen an uptick in demand for EVs * "At one [BYD] dealership in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, demand is so high that it booked a month’s worth of orders in just the past two weeks" * another dealership nearby had to hire more salespeople * small uptick from Edmunds for people researching EVs in relevant period[1] 1: https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/electrified-vehicle-research-gas-prices-data.html https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/electrified-vehicle-researc...

tencentshill 7mo ago

Just be aware of journalists relating 2 unrelated things happening at the same time using "among" and "as" and discount the article accordingly. If you didn't pay money for the article, they will utilize click and engagement bait. Of course a week of increased oil prices hasn't changed any measurable purchasing patterns as the title implies.

ZeroGravitas 7mo ago

> Gas prices have been "sky high" for a week and people who are under financial stress just decided to ditch their cars and buy a brand new BYD? Or, America's "No War" candidate is starting wars in the middle east with no plan. It's co-belligerant is targeting oil production facilities, and the defender is responding by taking out refinery capacity in the area. Markets are predicting higher fuel costs for years. That seems a reasonable time for a bump in EV sales interest.