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In 2025, 1 in 4 new automotive vehicle sales globally are expected to be an electric vehicleeither fully electric or a plug-in hybrid. That is a significant rise from just five years ago, when EV sales amounted to fewer than 1 in 20 new car sales, according to the International Energy Agency, an intergovernmental organization examining energy use around the world. In the U.S., however, EV sales have lagged, only reaching 1 in 10 in 2024. By contrast, in China, the worlds largest car market, more than half of all new vehicle sales are electric. The International Energy Agency has reported that two-thirds of fully electric cars in China are now cheaper to buy than their gasoline equivalents. With operating and maintenance costs already cheaper than gasoline models, EVs are attractive purchases. Most EVs purchased in China are made there as well, by a range of different companies. NIO, Xpeng, Xiaomi, Zeekr, Geely, Chery, Great Wall Motor, Leapmotor and especially BYD are household names in China. As someone who has followed and published on the topic of EVs for over 15 years, I expect they will soon become as widely known in the rest of the world. What kinds of EVs is China producing? Chinas automakers are producing a full range of electric vehicles, from the subcompact, like the BYD Seagull, to full-size SUVs, like the Xpeng G9, and luxury cars, like the Zeekr 009. Recent European crash-test evaluations have given top safety ratings to Chinese EVs, and many of them cost less than similar models made by other companies in other countries. A Wall Street Journal video explores a Chinese dark factoryone so automated that it doesnt need lights inside. Whats behind Chinese EV success? There are several factors behind Chinese companies success in producing and selling EVs. To be sure, relatively low labor costs are part of the explanation. So are generous government subsidies, as EVs were one of several advanced technologies selected by the Chinese government to propel the nations global technological profile. But Chinese EV makers are also making other advances. They make significant use of industrial robotics, even to the point of building so-called dark factories that can operate with minimal human intervention. For passengers, they have reimagined vehicles interiors, with large touchscreens for information and entertainment, and even added a refrigerator, bed or karaoke system. Competition among Chinese EV makers is fierce, which drives additional innovation. BYD is the largest seller of EVs, both domestically and globally. Yet the company says it employs over 100,000 scientists and engineers seeking continual improvement. From initial concept models to actual rollout of factory-made cars, BYD takes 18 monthshalf as long as U.S. and other global automakers take for their product development processes, Reuters reported. BYD is also the worlds second-largest EV battery seller and has developed a new battery that can recharge in just five minutes, roughly the same time it takes to fill a gas-powered cars tank. Exports The real test of how well Chinese vehicles appeal to consumers will come from export sales. Chinese EV manufacturers are eager to sell abroad because their factories can produce far more than the 25 million vehicles they can sell within China each yearperhaps twice as much. China already exports more cars than any other nation, though primarily gas-powered ones at the moment. Export markets for Chinese EVs are developing in Western Europe, Southeast Asia, Latin America, Australia and elsewhere. The largest market where Chinese vehicles, whether gasoline or electric, are not being sold is North America. Both the U.S. and Canadian governments have created what some have called a tariff fortress protecting their domestic automakers, by imposing tariffs of 100% on the import of Chinese EVsliterally doubling their cost to consumers. Customers budgets matter too. Te average price of a new electric vehicle in the U.S. is approximately $55,000. Less expensive vehicles make up part of this average, but without tax credits, which the Trump administration is eliminating after September 2025, nothing gets close to $25,000. By contrast, Chinese companies produce several sub-$25,000 EVs, including the Xpeng M03, the BYD Dolphin and the MG4 without tax credits. If sold in America, however, the 100% tariffs would remove the price advantage. Tesla, Ford and General Motors all claim they are working on inexpensive EVs. More expensive vehicles, however, generate higher profits, and with the protection of the tariff fortress, their incentive to develop cheaper EVs is not as high as it might be. In the 1970s and 1980s, there was considerable U.S. opposition to importing Japanese vehicles. But ultimately, a combination of consumer sentiment and the willingness of Japanese companies to open factories in the U.S. overcame that opposition, and Japanese brands like Toyota, Honda and Nissan are common on North American roads. The same process may play out for Chinese automakers, though its not clear how long that might take. Jack Barkenbus is a visiting scholar at Vanderbilt University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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E-Commerce
What do a yoga instructor, a parking garage attendant, and an influencer have in common? They are all now exempt from paying income tax on their tips under President Donald Trumps Big Beautiful Bill. As part of Trumps no tax on tips policy, streamers, online video creators, social media influencers, and podcasters are among the workers no longer required to hand over a portion of their tip income, according to a Treasury Department list released this week. The policyone of Trumps key 2024 campaign promiseswas written into the tax code when Congress passed the bill in July. At first, the conversation focused on restaurant servers. But the Treasury has since clarified that digital content creators also qualify, defined as people who produce and publish on digital platforms original entertainment or personality-driven content, such as live streams, short-form videos, or podcasts. In total, 68 occupations are eligible, including bartenders, electricians, tutors, makeup artists, taxi drivers, and golf caddies. For most influencers, tips are a relatively small slice of income compared to brand deals. Still, tipping is common on Twitch, where viewers buy bits, or on OnlyFans, where creators use tip menus for custom content. Under the no tax on tips policyset to run from 2025 until 2028creators can claim a deduction covering up to $25,000 of qualifying tip income. The deduction phases out for those earning more than $150,000, meaning top Twitch or TikTok stars who make millions annually wont see much benefit. But the large middle class of creators likely will. The president had promised to reward creators after they helped boost his campaign and pave the way for his return to the Oval Office. Now, hes making good on that pledge.
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E-Commerce
South Korea on Friday expressed “concern and regret” over a major U.S. immigration raid at a sprawling Georgia site where South Korean auto company Hyundai manufactures electric vehicles.South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lee Jaewoong described the number of detained South Koreans as “large” though he did not provide an exact figure.His ministry would not confirm or deny South Korean media reports saying that about 300 South Koreans were detained in Georgia on Thursday. The Atlanta office of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which assisted immigration authorities at the site, posed on the social media site X that about 450 people total were apprehended.Hyundai’s South Korean office didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.Thursday’s raid targeted one of Georgia’s largest and most high-profile manufacturing sites, touted by the governor and other officials as the largest economic development project in the state’s history. Hyundai Motor Group, South Korea’s biggest automaker, began manufacturing EVs a year ago at the $7.6 billion plant, which employs about 1,200 people, and has partnered with LG Energy Solution to build an adjacent battery plant, slated to open next year.ICE spokesman Lindsay Williams confirmed that federal authorities conducted an enforcement operation at the 3,000-acre (1,214-hectare) site west of Savannah, Georgia. He said agents were focused on the construction site for the battery plant.In a televised statement, Lee said the ministry is taking active measures to address the case, dispatching diplomats from its embassy in Washington and consulate in Atlanta to the site, and planning to form an on-site response team centered on the local mission.“The business activities of our investors and the rights of our nationals must not be unjustly infringed in the process of U.S. law enforcement,” Lee said.The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that agents executed a search warrant “as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into allegations of unlawful employment practices and other serious federal crimes.”It did not say whether anyone was detained or arrested.President Donald Trump’s administration has undertaken sweeping ICE operations as part of a mass deportation agenda. Immigration officers have raided farms, construction sites, restaurants and auto repair shops.The Pew Research Center, citing preliminary Census Bureau data, says the U.S. labor force lost more than 1.2 million immigrants from January through July. That includes people who are in the country illegally as well as legal residents.Hyundai and LG’s battery joint venture, HL-GA Battery Company, said in a statement that it’s “cooperating fully with the appropriate authorities” and paused construction of the battery site to assist their work.Operations at Hyundai’s EV manufacturing plant weren’t interrupted, said plant spokesperson Bianca Johnson. Kim Tong-Hyung and Russ Bynum, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
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