Who cares if China just cut prices on 22 different EVs? That couldn’t happen in America, could it?

Photo above - would you buy this EV for $8,000? Sorry, you raised your hand too fast. The maker (BYD) just cut the price in China due to slow sales. Not coming to America any time soon, apparently.

Let’s do a level-set first. Tesla is NOT the world’s largest EV maker. That would be “BYD” in China. Even before Musk tanked Tesla’s sales with his crazy antics, Model 3 and Model Y and tonka toy truck purchases were falling. Something about then all looking the same, costing too much, having poor build quality, and not being updated/refreshed with better tech and batteries.

Chinese automaker BYD changed its name from “Biyadi” to “Build Your Dream”. Which still has minimal market resonance outside of Shenzen City. You’d think the largest EV maker in the world would be sitting on top of that world, right? You don’t have to be named Tesla to have customers walk away from you.

BYD cut prices on 22 EVs over the weekend (see link below). Which sounds fishy, since that's actually more than the number of different models listed on their website. And most of BYD's product lineup ISNT EVs . .. more than half are ICE and hybrid cars.

BYD’s stock immediately fell 8%. Evidently shareholders aren’t buying the theory that price cuts are simply a way to increase customer’s inner joy, as Confucius would put it. It’s hard to tell exactly how much BYD reduced it's prices, but the Yuan is only 14 cents to the dollar, and their entry level EV lists for around 57,000 yuan. Yeah, that SOUNDS expensive, but in real money it’s less than $8,000. And they weren't exactly flying off dealer’s lots even at that price. Hence, the Memorial Day specials, until further notice.

BYDs are not for sale in the USA (yet). Evidently they’re a hit in some EU countries, where the alternative usually is electrified Mercedes, Volvos, Porsches and Audis costing more than $100,000. Not sure how well an $8,000 EV does on the Autobahn, but that’s a different question.

In the USA I’d be in the market for a $30,000 EV. Something that can cruise the interstate at 70 mph, survive a crash test, and has a range at least comparable to Honda Civic. If it costs more than that, or is pokier than that, or the cabin reverberates at 100 decibels when you're driving, I’m not interested. So BYD’s price cuts are largely irrelevant to me, and maybe to you.

That leaves the question: why are CHINESE buyers shunning BYD’s cars? It might have something to do with $hitty battery range, unable operate at highway speeds, indifferent build quality, and astonishing levels of NVH. But I haven’t test driven one. Chinese buyers have.

Honda, and Toyota, when are your $30,000 EVs coming to America? Or getting built here? I’m tired of reading about theoretical future breakthroughs in solid state batteries with mind blowing range and blink of an eye recharging times. You’ve had 10 years to solve this. Put up or shut up. Or some upstart like BYD actually WILL eat your lunch soon.

I’m just sayin’ . . .

BYD just fired another shot in China's EV price war — and investors are worried

BYD Car Models List | Complete List of All BYD Models