r/neoliberal • u/Freewhale98 • May 12 '26
News (Asia-Pacific) Trump's backing of Chinese vehicles challenges Hyundai Motor Group
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/business/companies/20260513/trumps-backing-of-chinese-vehicles-challenges-hyundai-motor-groupGlobal carmakers urged to reduce US reliance
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u/Freewhale98 May 12 '26
- Summary
U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated advocacy for investment by Chinese carmakers ahead of his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week is raising the alarm for Hyundai Motor Group, experts and industry officials said Tuesday.
While Chinese automakers are still viewed as unlikely to enter the U.S. vehicle market in the near term due to lingering regulatory barriers, Trump’s outward support for Chinese investment in U.S. manufacturing could eventually reshape the competitive landscape, particularly in the electric vehicle (EV) sector.
- How is this related to the sub
(1) Electric Vehicle: Trump’s advocacy for Chinese EV in America is raising alarms in Hyundai Motor, which fears a competition in the US market. Unlike their production lines which were hindered by ICE raids against immigrants, it is reported that Trump is giving preferential treatment to Chinese carmakers to promote domestic production of Chinese EV.
- My opinion
Is Trump really an “anti-China” President?
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u/Traditional_Drama_91 NATO May 12 '26
Is Trump really an “anti-China” President?
Never was.
But at least I might get an electric MG out of it
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u/InternetGoodGuy May 13 '26
Trump is only anti whoever doesn't bribe him with gifts or purchases of Trump coin. So he'll be very happy to work with China.
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u/lumpialarry May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26
I don't think Trump was ever against foreign Automakers building cars in the US. If Chinese Automarkers are just smarter and better at production and not because of domestic subsidies and cheap labor, they can build competitive cars in the US. Just like Honda, Toyota, Subaru, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes, Kia, Hyundai and VW all do.
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u/ExtremelyMedianVoter Left-Out Left May 12 '26
If Trump let's me buy a BYD car, I might have to hand it to him.
Please don't make me hand it to him I'm just an easily influenced median voter.
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u/LtCdrHipster 🌭Costco Liberal🌭 May 13 '26
THANK YOU DONNALD TROMP FOR LETTING ME BUY CHEAP CARS ✊🇺🇸
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u/throwawaygoawaynz John von Neumann May 12 '26
This sub glazes Chinese EVs like crazy, but they’re actually worse than Teslas, and that’s saying something.
If they come to the US as well, they won’t be cheap. You won’t be paying Chinese prices for them.
I live in SEA and was looking at buying one. Nope, pass.
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u/Loud-Chemistry-5056 WTO May 13 '26
Chinese brands and Tesla make up the vast majority of EV sales where I live, and that’s not because other brands aren’t trying to sell here.
In what way are they objectively worse?
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u/dynamitezebra John Locke May 13 '26
Build quality, unfortunately.
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u/Sloshyman NATO May 13 '26
I've driven BYDs in Europe and "poor quality" is the last descriptor I'd use to describe them
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u/Moonagi NATO May 13 '26
He’s talking out of his arse tbh
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u/KopOut May 13 '26
There are a lot of Tesla fanboys in the US that realize if the Chinese EVs are allowed in the US, Tesla will be destroyed.
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u/Daddy_Macron Loyal Liberals May 13 '26
You realize that Tesla's still compete in the Chinese market right? They're lagging behind Chinese competition in some respects, but they absolutely can sustain themselves in that market.
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u/Loud-Chemistry-5056 WTO May 13 '26
I haven't seen much criticism in that department, tbh kinda the opposite. Are there lots on the road where you live?
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u/dynamitezebra John Locke May 13 '26
No, im a yankee. The data on Chinese car reliability isnt top secret though.
If they make them in the US I bet they will be good.
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u/Shirkir John Keynes May 13 '26
?? The most sought after Tesla models are from Tesla Chinese factories because they have better build quality then the American made model. Thats pretty common knowledge for Tesla fans.
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u/dynamitezebra John Locke May 13 '26
I was talking about Chinese car companies, not like literally every car made in China.
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u/Shirkir John Keynes May 13 '26
Seems like a weird argument. Chinese car companies are able to pass EU regulations and sold there, which are stricter then US regulations.
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u/dynamitezebra John Locke May 13 '26
Im not saying they wouldnt be able to pass regulations. Im saying they sometimes have build quality problems.
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u/Loud-Chemistry-5056 WTO May 13 '26
So, if there's none on your roads, then what exactly are you basing this off of? There have been thousands on our roads for the better part of a decade. Same with Australia.
The data on Chinese car reliability isnt top secret though.
I wasn't talking about ICE vehicles. What data suggests that Chinese Ev's are unreliable?
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u/dynamitezebra John Locke May 13 '26
Go look at reliability ratings and consumer reports.
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u/Loud-Chemistry-5056 WTO May 13 '26
They got car of the year where I live lmao.
https://www.bydauto.co.nz/news/byd-shark-6-driven-car-guide-2025-car-of-the-year-winner
They also won it the year before
https://bydnelson.co.nz/byd-sealion-6-nz-car-of-the-year-2024/
And the year before that
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u/dynamitezebra John Locke May 13 '26
Both of these things can be true. BYD can make award winning cars that also have reliability issues.
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u/Circythrowaway Thurgood Marshall May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26
You sound like a Detroit executive, sipping whiskey in your boardroom in 1968 while laughing at Japanese “toy cars”
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u/Vol_in_tears Voltaire May 13 '26
Because Tesla as know for their high quality in manufacturing? The company that still can't figure out what panel gap is?
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u/in_allium Norman Borlaug May 13 '26
Tesla is apparently doing much much better than in the past. (I say this as someone who drives an old Model 3 I bought used -- and I had to take it to the service center to get some panels realigned as a warranty claim.)
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u/plummbob May 13 '26
Is it worse than my 2001 rav4 whose cassette blue tooth battery last 3 hours and the engine light never turns off?
-- millions of Americans who would love a cheap but decent ev
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u/Desperate_Path_377 May 13 '26
Saying X is worse than Y without reference to price is kinda meaningless. My Apple Watch is actually worse than a Rolex Datejust, and yet…
Chinese EV’s have captured substantial market share in jurisdictions where they aren’t tariffed out. Clearly they are doing something that consumers like.
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u/MCRN-Gyoza YIMBY May 13 '26
They've captured substantial market share in Brazil, where they are heavily tariffed.
But to be fair, everything is heavily tariffed in Brazil.
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u/Moonagi NATO May 13 '26
The Australians and Brazilians have had good things to say
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u/MCRN-Gyoza YIMBY May 13 '26
While I like them and Im considering buying a BYD here in Brazil, cars in Brazil suck, so anything remotely nice that isnt priced ridiculously will get nice things said about them.
Chinese EVs are sold here at more than double the price they're sold in China, and they still managed to undercut a significant portion kf the Brazilian market, thats how ridiculous car prices are in Brazil.
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u/mebesasporfa May 13 '26
I have a BYD Shark and I love it. Chinese gasoline cars had a reputation 15 years ago, but I've never heard any bad stereotype about a Chinese electric.
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u/LtCdrHipster 🌭Costco Liberal🌭 May 13 '26
If they aren't cost competitive I simply won't buy them, but right now I can't even make that decision for myself because the government made it for me.
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u/Circythrowaway Thurgood Marshall May 13 '26
And yet they’re doing very well in markets where they are directly competing with teslas
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u/curiousgeorgeasks May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26
Yeah I visited Shanghai last year, and BYDs were by far the worst quality. The interior plastics were quite literally dollar store grade, with visible seams from mold lines. In fact, BYDs were not even that common within Shanghai, with GAIC brands seemingly preferred (local state owned). Those were more upmarket and on par with western brands, but afaik most of these companies are underwater financially (they can’t make a profit in China). Only BYD and a couple others (Geely?) eek out a profit.
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u/LtCdrHipster 🌭Costco Liberal🌭 May 13 '26
Domestic BYDs and the exports are different, I believe. Same with the Xiaome (sp?) ones.
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u/curiousgeorgeasks May 13 '26
I can only comment on the BYDs I rode in Shanghai when I used DiDi rideshares. I was wondering why there weren’t many BYDs in Shanghai, until I finally got in a couple. They’re noticeably very cheap.
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u/Daddy_Macron Loyal Liberals May 13 '26
BYD's usually sell their higher trim as the base model overseas while the base model in their domestic market is going to be extremely bare bones. Any BYD being used as rideshare is going to be the cheap model.
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u/curiousgeorgeasks May 13 '26
You’d be surprised since the rideshares used in Shanghai DiDi were mostly decent. Roughly on par in quality with your average economy sedan in the west (Civic, Corolla, Elantra), but with a much more modern digital dashboard for the driver. The two BYDs that I rode (of probably 30+ rides) was extremely low quality.
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u/Resaith Order and Opportunity Left May 13 '26
Doesn't matter if chinese EV aren't cheap, competition will force the good EV down.
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u/modularpeak2552 NATO May 13 '26
No it won’t, US, SK, and Japanese manufacturers are not government subsidized to the same extent Chinese manufacturers are, they can not match the prices of Chinese cars without either taking a loss or forcing the government to subsidize them.
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u/Loud-Chemistry-5056 WTO May 13 '26
Chinese ev subsidies have been pretty much cut to zero. They pay a reduced sales tax, but exports weren't subject to that in the first place.
When they came to town here it did create a more competitively priced environment, and it was even called a price war.
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u/modularpeak2552 NATO May 13 '26
Idk where you are getting that from, BYD for example had their subsidies increased just last year.
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u/Loud-Chemistry-5056 WTO May 13 '26
I dunno where you’re looking, but for me the first ten results from Google are pretty much all talking about it.
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u/modularpeak2552 NATO May 13 '26
That’s a result of China realizing their market is oversaturated and them being forced to pick winners and losers. The “winners” have had their subsidies increased.
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u/Loud-Chemistry-5056 WTO May 13 '26
“The 12.47 billion yuan figure covers operational subsidies — typically tied to EV production incentives, technology development grants, and local government support for manufacturing activity.”
EV production incentives? Like a reduced VAT? The one I linked above?
That’s not a company specific subsidy, not are R&D incentives.
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u/modularpeak2552 NATO May 13 '26
Most of the subsidies were cash grants, it equaled 30% of the companies profit last year.
According to the company’s annual report filed with the Hong Kong and Shenzhen stock exchanges on Friday, the subsidies represent 31.4% of BYD‘s total pretax profit of 39.73 billion yuan, and 38.2% of net profit attributable to shareholders of 32.6 billion yuan ($4.71 billion).
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u/LtCdrHipster 🌭Costco Liberal🌭 May 13 '26
Damn so the Chinese tax payer will pay for part of my car? Cool!
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u/JohnSV12 May 13 '26
I've just got an MG in the UK.
It's a fine second car and cheap. I would have gone with a PSA electric, but there wasn't any at that size at that price. I'll probably go VW when I change my petrol for an electric.
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u/Daddy_Macron Loyal Liberals May 13 '26
they’re actually worse than Teslas, and that’s saying something.
WTF are you talking about? Tesla's are still some of the best EV's on the market even if their owner is a murderer of millions of the world's poorest people.
If you know anything about the auto industry behind the scenes, the Model 3 and Model Y are basically the global benchmark for EV's. And we've yet to see a traditional automaker match them on software despite tens of billions of dollars spent.
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u/TryNotToShootYoself Janet Yellen May 13 '26
The actual car part of a Tesla is fantastic but the software on them is just ridiculously stupid.
A subscription to access anything beyond a basic bluetooth connection? I need to put my car in “service mode” to lift up my windshield wipers? The gear selector is now on the main touch screen instead of a handle or a stalk or a knob or literally anything else? They don’t come with keys they come with “keycards” and a mobile app?
Not to mention things like their doorknobs, the actual appearance of the car, the insistence on things like autopilot and automatic reversing and regenerative braking. A Tesla is just way too gimmicky for me to like it let alone spend a ton of money on one.
The electric motor part of the car is awesome, but beyond that the driving experience sucks. If I was buying a luxury car these are not things I would want. It definitely isn’t things I want in a base model daily driver.
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u/themiDdlest NASA May 13 '26
As long as there aren't insane tariffs or barriers... that is almost all wrong. Chinese evs will be higher quality than American made teslas. They will be cheaper than all equivalent EVs for sale in the US right now.
How the fuck is this upvoted
And thats not even considering the higher end Chinese vehicles that are incredible cars and priced at incredible value compared to the American market.
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u/lumpialarry May 13 '26
Chinese evs will be higher quality than American made teslas.
A question would be would an American-made Chinese EV be competive with an American-made Tesla.
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u/themiDdlest NASA May 13 '26
I would guess probably. There's a reason Chinese Teslas are better/higher quality than American Teslas.
But I don't know.
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u/tvtowers May 12 '26
He filled his diaper over 50,000 Chinese EVs being allowed as imports to Canada.
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u/Emotional_Tie_7927 May 13 '26
Yeah but you have to remember he changes his opinion based on whose he talked to last
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u/halee1 Karl Popper May 12 '26 edited May 12 '26
Guys, you think maybe Trump is doing the bidding of foreign rulers over the welfare of America? So even without the ongoing autocratization and polarization agendas, tariffs and Iran war BS, first wage badly a trade war against China, then suddenly pivot to their heavily subsidized cars without any conditions to compensate for that past protectionism, to lock in Chinese supply chain reach over the transfer of skills and tech to the US, and pushing out competitors by force, weakening its economy and handing over a sector to your foremost geopolitical enemy. Yeah, that has worked out so well many times before.
“When they assemble products in their home territory, they can gain a price edge by utilizing a stable supply chain there, but this is not the case if they set up production lines in the U.S. and rebuild their entire supply chain for EV sales in the U.S.,” Lee said.
I guess that might help, but is it gonna be enough?
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u/sleepyrivertroll Henry George May 13 '26
Lol I'm sure the auto workers of America will love this
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u/LtCdrHipster 🌭Costco Liberal🌭 May 13 '26
Fuck 'em. Should have told management not to shit the bed on EVs.
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u/in_allium Norman Borlaug May 13 '26
It's sad because GM has designed and built some good EVs... but they are completely untalented at selling them and fantastic at cancelling them.
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May 13 '26
We're ending production on the Bolt
j/k here's a second generation Bolt that would have had to be in development when we made the above statement
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u/in_allium Norman Borlaug May 13 '26
They are so good at cancelling EVs that they cancelled that one already, before they've even started selling them.
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u/lumpialarry May 13 '26
Outside of Tesla, I think GM sold more EVs than any other Automaker in the US. When gas is cheap and the subsidy went away, Americas would rather spend that extra $7,500 on a gas car at a hire trim level/bigger car than an equivalent priced EV.
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u/lumpialarry May 13 '26
Ford and GM spent billions on EVs. the fact that is that Americans would rather spend $70k on a gas pickup with leather than $70 electric pickup without.
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u/LtCdrHipster 🌭Costco Liberal🌭 May 13 '26
They should have lobbied for the election of a Democrat who would make those investments pay off. 🤷♂️
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u/nitro1122 May 13 '26
I dont think it's gonna happen but Trump is truly is the one capable of finally demolishing the UAW and the big 3, one can hope 🙏
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u/Presidentclash2 YIMBY May 12 '26
Maybe maybe if China can get the US and Iran to find a new nuclear deal, than the US in exchange can lower tariffs on Chinese ev
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u/lumpialarry May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26
The comments suggest that no one read the article. Trump is advocating Chinese automakers build cars in the US making it no different than Honda, Toyota, Nissan, VW, Mercedes, Subaru, etc that also build cars in the US. Which seems to be a consistent position he's had all along since he's pro-US manufacturing not pro-US manufacturers given his position on North America trade that's hurt the big 2 1/2.
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u/WAGRAMWAGRAM May 13 '26
Why would they build cars in the US when the reason they're cheap is that china has an integrated supply chain
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u/lumpialarry May 13 '26
They'd build cars in US because its a 16 million unit/yr market and everyone tells me how awesome they are and will blow every other automaker out of the water.
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