[lisbbb]

The US didn't have electric vehicle protectionism until relatively recently? Not more than any other type of vehicles. The NHTSA and crash testing standards limit what cars can come to our shores, often to our detriment. Americans are dumbasses and have allowed government to way over-regulate the auto industry. Just look how much of the price of a car involves government mandates these days. It's obscene.

So...China. They have zero standards for anything. The cars probably do poorly in crashes. The industries making the batteries pollute the shit out of everything. The batteries probably don't last as long as indicated, probably half as many cells as was advertised. The tires are thinner, the glass is thinner, the paint is barely applied. Is this really what we want?

There has to be some middle way.

[ricardobeat]

> They have zero standards for anything. The cars probably do poorly in crashes

That might have been true a decade+ ago, but in recent years, nearly every car coming from China makes it to the top of the Euro NCAP rankings [1]. The current top 10 standing for 2025 is:

    1. Model 3 (DE)
    2. Firefly / Nio
    3. Smart #5
    4. Lynk & Co 02
    5. Polestar 3
    6. Zeekr 7x
    7. Togg T10x (TR)
    8. IM IM6
    9. Audi A6 (DE)
    10. Voyah Courage

7/10 are from China. The list goes on with even cheaper models from BYD/Vinfast/etc outperforming most of the classic automakers. The Nio ET5 from 2023 is still one of the safest cars ever made, and it was evaluated right at the time the EU introduced much stricter safety regulations.

[1] https://www.euroncap.com/en/ratings-rewards/latest-safety-ra...

[mattlondon]

I dunno, the Chinese cars available in the UK seem to do ok in crash tests and in reviews too, e.g. 5 star crash rating for the byd dolphin https://www.euroncap.com/en/results/byd/dolphin/50011 MG EV4 gets 8/10 review while VW id3 gets 7/10 https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/mg-motor-uk/mg4

I've driven a MG ZS EV for a month a year or two ago and it was an equal in terms of "feel" to my current to VW id3, but way better equipped. The tyres are just normal bridgestones or michellins etc.

Can't comment on the paint or if they're lying about the battery capacity, but they genuinely seem like decent cars, at least the ones in the UK. I am sure there are cheaper-made ones for the domestic china market, but the export stuff seems good.

[bluealienpie]

Too much of the debate is taken up by regulations are good vs bad. The focus should be on drafting regulations that make sense. The US doesn't allow small trucks due to EPA classification so didn't make any until this recent crop of EVs started popping up.

RE China: They also make the cheapest and best qualities Telsa which are shipped around the world. They can make the best and worst quality depending on your price point.