Hi, I’m Azeem Azhar. In this week’s edition, we explore how the increasing affordability of electric vehicles for Chinese workers might further stimulate China’s already advanced cost advantage in the global market.
“The lesson is a cautionary tale of hubris, for Western car makers who doubted the exponential trend sweeping electric vehicles and stepped in too timidly and, possibly, too late. “
If you want to see hubris, look at Japan. Toyota is still talking how EVs are just a fad and hydrogen is the future despite there being no cost-competitive products, lackluster infrastructure and EV batteries improving significantly on a yearly basis now. Mazda on the other hand has stated that their aim is to perfect the IC engine.
The Japanese companies (namely Toyota) has been claiming for at least 10 years now that they have a solid state battery in the works and it will blow everyone’s minds. Well where’s that? Where’s any evidence that they’re even making progress? And at the same time Toyota is, to my knowledge, alongside 2 oil companies in top-3 biggest anti-EV lobbyists in the world.
European car makers need to rapidly improve their tech and find ways to produce EVs with profit, even if it means partnering with e.g. CATL for buying the EV platform from them. But at least they are making good EVs at the moment and people also want them. Not a single good EV has come out of Japan yet.
Got the bus at the weekend (in Croydon), which was made by BYD so they're also making strides when it comes to public transport, which is presumably a sizeable market in its own right as well as another dimension for their R&D.
I only noticed because I was marvelling at the shiny, camera based wing 'mirrors'.
“The lesson is a cautionary tale of hubris, for Western car makers who doubted the exponential trend sweeping electric vehicles and stepped in too timidly and, possibly, too late. “
If you want to see hubris, look at Japan. Toyota is still talking how EVs are just a fad and hydrogen is the future despite there being no cost-competitive products, lackluster infrastructure and EV batteries improving significantly on a yearly basis now. Mazda on the other hand has stated that their aim is to perfect the IC engine.
The Japanese companies (namely Toyota) has been claiming for at least 10 years now that they have a solid state battery in the works and it will blow everyone’s minds. Well where’s that? Where’s any evidence that they’re even making progress? And at the same time Toyota is, to my knowledge, alongside 2 oil companies in top-3 biggest anti-EV lobbyists in the world.
European car makers need to rapidly improve their tech and find ways to produce EVs with profit, even if it means partnering with e.g. CATL for buying the EV platform from them. But at least they are making good EVs at the moment and people also want them. Not a single good EV has come out of Japan yet.
Yeah. It's a great point.
Got the bus at the weekend (in Croydon), which was made by BYD so they're also making strides when it comes to public transport, which is presumably a sizeable market in its own right as well as another dimension for their R&D.
I only noticed because I was marvelling at the shiny, camera based wing 'mirrors'.