Americans Can’t Buy Chinese EVs. Waymo Is Importing Thousands
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2026/08/02/americans-cant-buy-chinese-evs-waymo-is-importing-thousands/Open linkView original on lemmy.zipSyndicated from the fediverse. Read and engage on the original instance.
View original on lemmy.ziphttps://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2026/08/02/americans-cant-buy-chinese-evs-waymo-is-importing-thousands/Open linkView original on lemmy.zip
66 replies
No no, China pays the tariffs.
I know, because I live in a gutter and huff jenkem
Just like Waymo, you pay a 127.5% tariff. Americans can buy Chinese EVs; the title is simply a lie that is refuted by the very first paragraph of the exact same article.
Remember. Waymo is Google.
Yup no $8k economy cars.. You'll buy that$30,000 truck and like it
New trucks are like $100K
Yeah it's the compact economy cars that are $30,000.
This isn’t a clever loophole – – this is Trump making sure that only billionaires can profit, and the rest of us are all fucked
It doesn't actually seem that way. They're likely eating the tariff because of the costs of hardware redesign, which I would imagine to cost millions and a lot of testing time.
If they're getting a volume discount of 10%, then after tarrif each vehicle is probably cheaper than a whole refab.
Only his billionaire bosses can profit. Lol
FREEDUMB.
The Best of Both Worlds!
I love a national Monopsony.
Also... Archive.is link
Learned a new word today! 🥳
All of the cost, none of the equity. Just as capitalism demands.
Distributed burden, with the profits for the few.
What did we do with the railroad barons again? And where’s their privatised cutting-edge tech??
"Free enterprise for me and none for thee."
yeah... sure... so very worried about "national security" that security risks can only be used by government employees, big corporations, and in federal buildings but not in private homes... yeah sure... that's secure. Really feeling the security of the nation here... NOT.
silly goose, corporations make their own rules
In this case, corporations have the exact same rules as the everyday man: you can import Chinese EVs for a 127.5% tariff. Waymo is doing exactly that, just as you can.
The title of the article (that Americans can't buy Chinese EVs buy Waymo can) is refuted by the very first paragraph of the same article.
Yeah, but do corpos have value?
At least til recently, Waymo here in California was using modified Jaguars. IDK if they started out as Jaguar EV's or if they were ICE cars converted by Waymo. But they are everywhere in SF and also seen in other parts of the region.
They are Jaguar I-Pace EVs. They were natively EV to begin with. Waymo actually purchased large chunks of them through 2026, but with Jaguar basically committing suicide they needed another vehicle to work with.
RULES FOR THEE BUT NOT FOR ME
Does this have to do with safety regulations or something? Like what is the reasoning behind it? Because I heard these Chinese cars dont have good safety regulations
The reasoning is to protect us companies from having to invest in better factories and design, any manufacturer's cars meet whatever safety standards they are designed to meet.
US companies are just a small fraction of auto sales in the US and two of the three make most of their money selling trucks and big SUVs which aren't even in the same vicinity as Chinese EVs competition wise. Stop spreading disinformation.
Literally Biden's stated reason for blowing up the EV credit, and Trump's stated reason for Chinese car tariffs.
Biden didn't blow up the EV credits, the program expired and he brought a second round back. Also we don't have Chinese car tariffs because Chinese cars aren't sold in the US.
Jesus christ everyone wants to make up their own reasons based on nothing more than their feelings-based assumptions.
What's funny is that I bet a lot of you would also argue that Americans don't earn enough money while simultaneously arguing that we should outsource what few well paying manufacturing jobs we have left to a country on the other side of the planet.
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/joe-biden-china-tariff-hikes-ev-battery-semiconductor-final/727014/
This is on top of the special 25% tariff on all chinese goods. The reason we don't have Chinese cars is the massive tariffs.
Except that's the reason.
Why because that's how you guys feel and because you state the claim with confidence (but nothing else)?
The auto industry in the US is already dominated by foreign brands and has been for quite a long time. It doesn't make any sense as being the reason because that ship sailed long ago, and as I already described, two of the three remaining US automakers don't even bother competing in the segment that Chinese EVs operate in, so what US company does it protect apart from Tesla which makes up a whopping 3% of the entire market?
It doesn't matter if the competitor is a gas car or not, an EV on the market is a car on the market, at a set price on the market.
There are no way, no EV for me, nuh uh people just as well as there are EV or nothing people, just as well as there are I just gotta get to work, man people.
All of them. No EV? Factor gas into the monthly payment. EV? Consider the gas as part of the monthly payment.
Quit building fake goal posts, a car is a car, and any customer will buy one if it suits their budget. If a Chinese car suited their budget, they'd buy it.
you haven't really address that the US is already dominated by foreign brands though so it doesn't make sense to exclude china specifically unless there are other reasons beyond just keeping the US companies dominant. TryingToBeGood cited security concerns which i think is probably the more likely reason.
That wasn't really part of my grievance. Our domestic brands are even foreign brands. Ford and Chevy motors are made in Mexico and the electronics are all Chinese or Mitsubishi accross every US brand. The optics shit about domestic vs foreign is more political than real. I see more MAGA fucktards in Nissan Leafs due to poverty than I do Dodge Chargers.
If protectionism is not a consideration why were there massive controversial bailouts when US auto started to fail?
The answer is simple.
Its not either/or its both. The brands in the US are from countries allied with the US. They don't want China to have more manufacturing that can potentially be used in war. Conversely they want US manufacturing that can be used in war.
The industry they're protecting just happens to be used for civilian purposes right now.
They're telling you Chinese cars spies on you because they want you to think your interests and the states interest align with regards to war with China.
China makes EV SUVs, they're just as awful as their American counterparts despite being slightly better for the environment.
But the part that the big auto manufactures fear is that they would destroy the market; they understood awhile ago that every wagon they sell is a lost SUV sale, which has a way higher margin, every sedan a lost sport-crossover sale, every minivan a lost 4dr pickup.
Dealers hate EVs because they lose so much on servicing, and dealership owners are one of the most chuddy groups.
They are supposed to be as good or better than cars made by the US Big 3. Then once the new sodium ion batteries come out, they will be far safer.
only to some extent, it's not like the safe models aren't being blocked. I think for example, the BYD Dolphin was redesigned to meet australian compliance.
Chinese companies are willing to redesign for saftey, but the government of course has other plans.
Basically some chinese cars by their direct chinese design, might not pass US safety standards. However china has shown they are willing to modify designs to enter the market. the only reason why they aren't in the US market is because the government wont let them. Corporate has been using chinese evs (and trucks) and buses, for awhile now.
The Safest Cars On Sale In Europe Now Are Chinese EVs
Where did you hear that bullshit?
My BYD has the highest rating possible
It has to do with the cars talking to each other and perhaps eavesdropping on other vehicles, etc.
https://www.bis.gov/press-release/commerce-finalizes-rule-secure-connected-vehicle-supply-chains-foreign-adversary-threats
According to them. Meanwhile we know GM and friends are doing it. (link)
This is TikTok all over again, accuse China of the stuff American companies are already doing, and selling the data to China anyways. (link)
Well, sure. US government: “We are entitled to your personal information—but nobody else is!!” 😁
I don't think a single person has actually been to China or understands what it's actually like beyond tiktoc propaganda.
You all are crying for shit cheap EVs, then if you get them you're going to cry that your house burns down and it's Trunps fault. I would be as happy as the next person if the orange flavored dip shit was gone, but you've created a no win situation
I find it also amazing that people are willing to forego actually paying people enough to have a living so long as they save money. China is a COMMUNIST country, and reguardless how you feel about it, they apress the fuck out of their people.
This would hold up better if I could get a non-shitty car made in the USA. Alas…
Truly, it would be difficult for the Chinese to do a worse job of making cars than the planned obsolescence crap we’ve come up with.
I'm an American. I've been multiple times, mostly for work.
You're a fucking propagandist stfu. Cause yeah, capitalism is oppressing no one right now. Or blowing their limbs off.
You stupid fucks can't realize that those in power regardless of societal or governmental structure are the problem. Authoritarianism is the problem. Does the CCP have problems? Of course. But is American capitalism perfect? Sure as fuck no. Build a better system. Learn from all of them. And the answer will NEVER be capitalism as it requires exploitation and oppression to profit by default.
No one is more pro-regulation than a capitalist when competition is growing in their market.
So I repeat, respectfully, shut the fuck up.
HAHAHAHAHAH
Edit: am in China rn, it's even better than the TikTok propaganda. Would live here in a heartbeat instead of the racist and islamophobic West that bombed my country and called me a Muslim scum when I fled to their so called humanitarian safe havens.
China was a communist country, long ago. Now, they are communist in name only. And yet America still "apresses" [sic] their people (and the rest of the world) under a capitalist system so what gives?
Oh sweetie...
So the robots need to provide for their robot families? 🤣
I don’t want any of the Chinese EVs either.
Why?
Is it stupidity, or good old-fashioned racism?
The second one requires the first.
They’re ugly and over complicated
You have something in common then, but you aren't over-complicated
I am simple and ugly. And that’s what I want in a car.