Yeah, well, European auto-makers should’ve gotten their shit together instead of dragging their feet on EVs and trying to squeeze extra profits from the SUV fad.
European auto-makers founded those companies with their billions. Now they will be eaten by them.
In 2010, BYD Auto Industry Co., Ltd. and Daimler AG, now known as Mercedes-Benz Group AG, formed a 50-50 joint venture named Shenzhen BYD Daimler New Technology with a brand named Denza to focus on research and development of new energy vehicles. The brand showcased a concept car called the Denza EV at Auto China in April 2012.[54] Denza was later restructured in 2021, when BYD took control of the brand by taking a 90% stake in the venture.[53] Mercedes-Benz withdrew entirely from the joint venture in September 2024.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BYD_AutoThis is only one example from Wikipedia but there are plenty old articles how BMW, Volkswagen, Mercedes and other European automakers were pouring billions into China and giving away R&D for free.
Having thoroughly learnt their lesson, Mercedes now partners with Geely Autos instead, under the Smart marque. Although I think at this point the flow of knowledge and R&D might be the other way around.
And lobbying hard to keep regulations out of their way
why?
Because they will complain in a few years that they can not sell their combustion engine vehicles anymore and that they don’t have competitive EVs
I recently came across this 2023 Mozilla article on data privacy in cars and it’s horrendous. This was based in the US, so one would expect some differences in the EU to comply with GDPR, however who even thinks of asking about the data their car collects?
Suffice it to say, I’m rather hesitant currently to buy any data greedy product from a company headquartered outside Europe. It’s not entirely avoidable but with cars, we do have options, so please do ask lots of questions before making a choice.
I’m in the same position but I’m wary of any and all cars, European or otherwise, because what 40 years in the Tech industry and paying attention to this kind of subject has taught me, is that if they have the means to do it all large companies will collect as much private data from you as they can.
Whilst the GDPR theoretically would protect you if you’re in Europe and it’s an European company, what the Diesel Emissions Scandal has shown is that for such “too big to fail” companies, even when their law-breaking causes actual deaths (over ten thousand people are estimated die in Europe every year due to diesel emissions), European governmments won’t do anything beyond a little hand slapping and maybe scapegoat and emprision a few low-level Engineers.
So I would only ever go for an EV solution with no connectivity, which in the absence of no-connection EVs, might be an electric motorcycle or involve an EV conversion kit.
Then again at the moment I refuse to get a car, both because it’s financially one of the worst uses of money imaginable (if you live in a city it’s too costly per-hours-travelled, both upfront and in ongowing insurance and maintenance costs, since it’s seldom needed for commuting within a city so you only use it a very small fraction of the time and it mostly spends its time gathering dust), environmental considerations (even EVs polute, mainly from microparticle release from the tires when in use and emissions related to their manufacture) and health considerations (I actually walk around 15 minutes to work and the same back every day, and walking at least 30m a day has been proven to decrease the likelihood of many health problems, most notably cardio-vascular one).
Pretty much every Ford dealership is BYD now around my area.
I might just be one of their buyers. Currently have an EV work vehicle but will lose it if/when I quit/get fired. If by that time BYD has the most interesting offer, financially speaking, the choice will be easy.
Getting ahead of the fascism, smart.
In what sense?
Less likely to be targeted by them like Trump is doing now.
