China’s EV manufacturing is ascendant. Will it come at Detroit's expense?

On Tuesday Feb. 27, the New York Times published an op-ed on China’s ascendent EV manufacturing, and the likely effect it will have on American EV production. Long story short, the time is quickly approaching when BYD and Geely, China’s two largest EV manufacturers, could put $11,000 models on the market. Even with U.S. tariffs, this will put immense pressure on Detroit's Big Three (GM, Ford, and Chrysler) to produce models comparable in price and functionality. This will have big effects on the labor union contracts whose workers produce EVs, as lower prices will put downward pressure on wages.

In addition, or perhaps in response to the threat these Chinese cars pose to American auto manufacturing, the Biden administration warns that these cars could be loaded with Chinese spyware. That software could, in theory, track where Americans drive and charge their vehicles, or even what music or podcasts they listen to on the road. Because the software is baked into the manufacturing, outlawing this software would effectively remove these cars from the American EV market.

Our take? We envision a world where virtually every car is an EV, and we support the fastest path to that world, which includes the production of low-cost models to encourage adoption. That said, we offer loans to U.S. customers, and the vast majority of the cars we finance are from an American company, Tesla. We want to see a robust and healthy American EV manufacturing base, labor force, and market. But competing with China will require us to make hard choices over the next decade as American manufacturers fight to become relevant in an increasingly competitive global EV market. One choice that’s not hard is continuing the Biden administration’s ambitious EV adoption goals, which will encourage the U.S. to adapt to the coming world as fast as possible.

While BYD cars aren’t currently available in the US, EV Life can help you save on a number of cars, including used Teslas that come in at under $20,000 or Chevy Bolts, which, if you live in California, you can get for $8,000 after utilizing all available credits and rebates.