[rsj_hn]

I wouldn't at all be surprised if we get a flood of relatively cheap to maintain EVs from China, as a parallel of the durable and cheap cars we got from Japan in the 80s. Except this time, it wont be so much that the components themselves are reliable as that they are standardized and all the DRM is removed so that they can be affordably serviced. I don't think the future is very bright for domestic auto makers. First, they foolishly declare they will stop selling ICE vehicles, handing that entire market segment over to asian competitors, and then they screw the pooch with EVs via user-hostile designs. 2021 was the first year since the 1930s that GM wasn't the best selling car maker, being dethroned by Toyota - a company that really does make lower TCO vehicles.

[anovikov]

With EVs that won't be a problem - they are absurdly cheap to maintain. With Tesla, things are a lot simpler. Original buyers were the people who were excited to own an EV. Now that EVs has gone mainstream, that segment is gone, and people became more attentive to details of the cars they buy. And, Tesla's interiors suck. Model 3 looks like a dirt cheap Chinese car, Model S like a mid-range European family car. Exterior is cool, but inside it feels like a car 3x it's cheaper. I can imagine it becoming a major impediment in sales now as the "early adopters" market is fulfilled.

Then again, maybe it's OK in U.S. where most of the cars are crappy on the inside - my ex had an American BMW X5 and it felt like cheap crap too, quite unlike it's European cousin. But it won't fly here in Europe.

[bryanlarsen]

GM sales are up 2.5% in 2022 and Toyota's are down 10%, giving the crown back to GM.