[HN Gopher] BYD's YangWang U8 launched, can float on water for 3...
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       BYD's YangWang U8 launched, can float on water for 30 minutes and
       sail 3km/h
        
       Author : belter
       Score  : 117 points
       Date   : 2024-01-06 17:58 UTC (5 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (carnewschina.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (carnewschina.com)
        
       | diggan wrote:
       | Seems like BYD has surpassed Tesla as the biggest EV maker as of
       | the end of 2023:
       | https://www.ft.com/content/716c9b0b-d8cd-491a-a91b-d70c1e540...
       | (https://archive.is/LOiYh)
       | 
       | I'm guessing that Musk's unwillingness to work with the rules and
       | norms in the markets Tesla is trying to enter, will be Tesla's
       | downfall. Hopefully Tesla could somehow get rid of Musk as it
       | seems like he is constantly holding Tesla back quite a bit.
       | (edit: some context:
       | https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...)
        
         | madaxe_again wrote:
         | I'll bite the bait, and will point out that Tesla sales this Q
         | have been suppressed by people awaiting model refreshes.
        
           | kamikaz1k wrote:
           | Moreover, you wanna focus on production + days spent in
           | inventory.
           | 
           | Deliveries have more factors involved, and really only useful
           | if full production capacity isn't being fully sold out (which
           | I believe still is).
        
           | pengaru wrote:
           | BYD isn't even available in all markets Tesla is. For it to
           | surpass Tesla globally _without_ selling to US buyers is
           | nothing to shake a stick at.
        
             | adventured wrote:
             | You can't sell dangerous $10,000 EVs in affluent markets in
             | Europe, North America, Japan, etc. Fairly strict build &
             | safety regulations prevent that.
        
               | reisse wrote:
               | I'd say dieselgate, Tesla self-driving safety
               | investigation and the recent Toyota/Daihatsu scandal
               | shows regulations are not working as well as people wish
               | them to.
        
               | pengaru wrote:
               | China's EVs are already in the UK under the MG marque
               | (SAIC[0]) and there's no reason to think BYD won't follow
               | suit AFAICT.
               | 
               | It's just a matter of when, not if, from where I'm
               | sitting.
               | 
               | [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAIC_Motor#MG
        
           | diggan wrote:
           | > I'll bite the bait
           | 
           | I guess I'll do the same? Why have curious conversation when
           | you can assume the worst?
           | 
           | > Tesla sales this Q have been suppressed by people awaiting
           | model refreshes
           | 
           | You're just saying "Tesla had less sales because of bad $X"
           | with fancier words. The importance is not why Tesla fucked up
           | (that's up to them to figure out), but that they're now being
           | surpassed even though they had a huge headstart.
        
             | belltaco wrote:
             | Included in the stat are $10K cars sold in China, maybe
             | Tesla doesn't want to compete in the extreme low end just
             | like Apple doesn't make $150 phones. Being a profitable
             | barely #2 in a large and growing market is somehow fucking
             | up?
             | 
             | If you are world #2 in your field of work do you consider
             | yourself a failure and that you fucked up? That's a sad
             | existence.
        
               | diggan wrote:
               | > If you are world #2 in your field of work do you
               | consider yourself a failure and that you fucked up?
               | That's a sad existence.
               | 
               | Personally, I wouldn't, I don't care what "position" I'm
               | at, as long as I have enough. But I'm fairly sure that
               | Musk would take that as a failure, especially if you've
               | been #1 for a bunch of quarters and suddenly you aren't.
               | 
               | (Musk has repeated many times that he wants Tesla to be
               | the biggest automaker [by volume]
               | https://dallasexpress.com/business-markets/teslas-goal-
               | large...)
        
               | belltaco wrote:
               | Musk and Tesla opened up EV patents to help other car
               | companies make and sell EVs, more EVs are getting into
               | the hands of people so that's a good thing.
               | 
               | https://sustainablebrands.com/read/behavior-change/tesla-
               | ope...
        
               | __m wrote:
               | Under the condition that Tesla can use their patents in
               | return.
        
               | Veserv wrote:
               | That is just a lie their marketing department tells to
               | make themselves look better thinking people will not look
               | further.
               | 
               | Their actual pledge:
               | https://www.tesla.com/legal/additional-resources#patent-
               | pled...
               | 
               | States you can use Tesla patents if you agree to let
               | Tesla use your patents, rip-off your products, make
               | counterfeits, and steal your trade secrets.
               | 
               | That is worse than standard patent reciprocity agreements
               | and I think most companies would prefer paying for
               | regular patent licensing over such ludicrous IP
               | overreach. Tesla and Elon Musk somehow proposed something
               | even less open than regular patents and had the gall to
               | lie about being openness advocates.
        
               | belltaco wrote:
               | > rip-off your products, make counterfeits, and steal
               | your trade secrets.
               | 
               | Not seeing that in your link, can you quote the relevant
               | parts or cite better sources?
        
         | Etheryte wrote:
         | This is a stat that people keep bringing up while completely
         | ignoring the fact that many of BYD's vehicles are not
         | marketable outside of China because they're just rip-offs of
         | other manufacturers' vehicles. See BYD S8 [0] and Mercedes-Benz
         | CLK-Class [1] for one example, but there are numerous. This
         | should tell you everything you need to know about this company.
         | 
         | [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BYD_S8
         | 
         | [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_CLK-Class
        
           | diggan wrote:
           | > that many of BYD's vehicles are not marketable outside of
           | China
           | 
           | Yet, it seems like they're beating a lot of other EV makers
           | across the world, and are producing top-selling vehicles in a
           | bunch of countries. So seems it's somewhat working outside of
           | China? Or I misunderstand what you mean.
        
             | acover wrote:
             | The price outside china is very different. In Colombia for
             | example their 10k car is 150,000,000 cop or about 35k.
        
               | seanmcdirmid wrote:
               | This might have to do with Columbian import tariffs, it
               | might also not be exactly the same car.
        
           | endisneigh wrote:
           | Why does it matter if it's a rip off or not? If a design is
           | good why not reuse?
        
             | sidlls wrote:
             | Because it demonstrates a theft of tech and design, which
             | puts their credibility and integrity in question. Is the
             | derivative safe (actually safe, not government-of-China
             | wanting a feather in its cap rubber-stamp safe)? Is the
             | derivative actually comparable (i.e. is the marketing a
             | lie)? Aside from that, do we want to reward companies that
             | steal other companies' ideas?
        
               | endisneigh wrote:
               | Please do tell me a company that has released something
               | that is independently invented in its entirety with
               | respect to "tech and design"
               | 
               | Such a ridiculous take on a technology forum.
               | 
               | It's a waste of human energy to reinvent the wheel. Not
               | to mention the example given earlier is irrelevant since
               | it's no longer in production anyway.
        
               | sidlls wrote:
               | Please stop moving the goalposts. Iterating on the past
               | is different from thieving entire designs, and you know
               | it.
        
               | endisneigh wrote:
               | There is more to design than its surface appearance, and
               | the car described earlier uses an entirely different
               | drivetrain than the Mercedes...
               | 
               | I swear the stupidest takes on this forum called "hacker
               | news". Hackers who usually reuse the same exploit "tech
               | and design", lol...
        
           | stavros wrote:
           | > See BYD S8 [0] and Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class [1] for one
           | example
           | 
           | I was thinking "come on, how similar can they be, the CLK has
           | a really distinctive design", but nope, identical. Wow.
        
           | buran77 wrote:
           | The design can change as long as the tech inside is legal to
           | sell elsewhere and does the job. I'd say the design is anyway
           | the first to change because tastes may differ between
           | continents (even between US and Europe).
           | 
           | The example you gave is for a 15 year old car where only 100
           | were produced and Mercedes couldn't have been too upset since
           | they signed a partnership with BYD that year. Around the same
           | time Tesla was selling Lotus Roadsters. In the meantime
           | obviously neither still needs to do that. BYD will sell
           | outside of China whatever they are legally allowed to sell on
           | top of the growing sales they have inside China.
           | 
           | > This should tell you everything you need to know about this
           | company.
           | 
           | If you're too focused on how they did business 15 years ago
           | you might miss that they're passing by you today. Does Musk
           | tell you everything you need to know about Tesla? Millions
           | are still buying. If you don't buy BYD it won't be because
           | they were copying the megastars of the time decades ago.
           | 
           | I'm not a fan of Chinese business practices but a lot of big
           | companies everywhere started by copying more established
           | competing products.
        
           | kccqzy wrote:
           | You are choosing an example from more than a decade ago, at a
           | time when not even Chinese people chose BYD vehicles. To wit
           | the S8 sold 103 units. Things have changed. You are ignoring
           | the fact that plenty of BYD's vehicles are already marketed
           | and sold in Europe, other Asian countries, and Australia.
        
             | senkora wrote:
             | Extremely anecdotally, I saw their vehicles on display at a
             | mall in Costa Rica.
        
               | lgleason wrote:
               | I have seen a few on the road in Costa Rica as well.
               | There are not a lot of electric cars on the roads down
               | there despite the tax incentives because they are too
               | expensive for the average Tico. You also seen a decent
               | number of Cherry, Geely, Great Wall and JAC on the road
               | down there as well...among other Chinese makes.
        
               | robocat wrote:
               | I see a few BYD in New Zealand - was outselling model Y
               | last year: https://thedriven.io/2023/06/09/byd-tops-nz-
               | electric-sales-i... although numbers might be misleading:
               | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38894690
               | 
               | NZ mostly buys second hand vehicles from Japan, so new
               | vehicle sales numbers are low.
        
               | kalleboo wrote:
               | They have a dealership where I live in a southern
               | Japanese city now. Seems like a very bold move, Japan
               | must be a very difficult market for a Chinese brand...
               | 
               | I'm visiting Australia now and you see lots of Great Wall
               | trucks
        
             | manmal wrote:
             | In Austria, they have begun winning contracts with public
             | agencies. Their offering is just good, not least due to
             | their top notch battery tech.
        
             | inasio wrote:
             | I just rode a BYD taxi (Uber) in Mexico city, I believe it
             | was the BYD D1. Super comfortable, tons of leg space,
             | minivan-style door. The driver claimed that after 100K kms
             | the range was still within 1% of baseline.
        
           | blackoil wrote:
           | That is a 2006 car and BYD is gaining market in Europe,
           | Middle East and SEA also.
        
           | roughly wrote:
           | Hyundai's early designs could charitably be called
           | "derivative," too. Even the early Japanese cars aped existing
           | design languages.
        
           | woobar wrote:
           | I am not sure it is such a big deal to have a car that looks
           | like a competitor.
           | 
           | Ford used to advertise Ford Granada that looks like a new
           | Cadillac and costs less. [1]
           | 
           | [1]
           | https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/AdwAAOSw~Chg93LK/s-l1600.jpg
        
           | cowboyscott wrote:
           | > In 2009 the car sold in 96 units, and only seven cars were
           | sold in the full 2010 fiscal year. Production has now ceased.
           | In all, the car sold in only 103 units
           | 
           | This is like saying we should ignore Tesla because the only
           | car they sold in 2009 was a rip-off Lotus.
           | 
           | Speaking as an American, I'd love to see what the presence of
           | low-end (say, $10k range) autos would do to traffic laws and
           | city planning.
        
             | adventured wrote:
             | > This is like saying we should ignore Tesla because the
             | only car they sold in 2009 was a rip-off Lotus.
             | 
             | No it's not like saying that. Lotus had a deal with Tesla.
             | 
             | https://www.tesla.com/blog/lotus-position
        
               | cowboyscott wrote:
               | That's right, I didn't mean to imply theft of any kind.
               | I'm mostly pointing out that both companies sort of
               | outsourced the body design (BYD in a more questionable
               | way) as they figured out how to grow. Both companies were
               | quite small production-wise in 2009 and are very
               | different today.
        
               | sudosysgen wrote:
               | BYD also had a deal with Mercedes, for a brand called
               | Denza, in the following year.
        
           | vitorgrs wrote:
           | BYD is very marketable here in Brazil, and the sales are
           | rising like crazy...
        
           | osigurdson wrote:
           | I think if they make a good product it should always be
           | possible to hire a designer to make their cars look good
           | without industrial design infringements.
        
         | samr71 wrote:
         | If he was willing to work with the rules and norms of the
         | markets they want to enter, they'd sell even fewer cars. If
         | they had to deal with the same regulations and IP laws as
         | China, they'd sell more.
        
           | diggan wrote:
           | > If he was willing to work with the rules and norms of the
           | markets they want to enter, they'd sell even fewer cars
           | 
           | Well, as it stands right now, BYD looks to be the more
           | popular option in countries like Sweden just because Musk
           | refuses to do what every other single company does in the
           | country. Even Amazon found a way to work in a way that the
           | common person is protected, why can't Tesla?
        
             | belltaco wrote:
             | > Well, as it stands right now, BYD looks to be the more
             | popular option in countries like Sweden just because Musk
             | refuses to do what every other single company does in the
             | country
             | 
             | No it's not, where are you getting your data from? Not to
             | mention jumping to conclusions.
        
         | belltaco wrote:
         | > I'm guessing that Musk's unwillingness to work with the rules
         | and norms in the markets Tesla is trying to enter, will be
         | Tesla's downfall. Hopefully Tesla could somehow get rid of Musk
         | as it seems like he is constantly holding Tesla back quite a
         | bit.
         | 
         | Like what? Source(s)?
        
           | diggan wrote:
           | > Like what? Source(s)?
           | 
           | Added a link that gives you some additional context.
        
             | belltaco wrote:
             | > Added a link that gives you some additional context.
             | 
             | Tesla sold 55% more cars in Nov 2023 compared to Nov 2022,
             | and 9% more in December, so how is that Tesla's downfall?
             | 
             | https://carup.se/trots-strejken-tesla-far-ut-fler-bilar-i-
             | sv...
             | 
             | https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-
             | transportation/tesla-...
             | 
             | Edit: Ran into the posting limit but the below is certainly
             | false about Sweden, BYD is not selling the most cars there.
             | 
             | > BYD are selling the most cars, and is the fastest growing
             | in terms of sales in the country
        
               | diggan wrote:
               | BYD are selling the most cars, and is the fastest growing
               | in terms of sales in the country. If you're aiming to be
               | the company that produces the most vehicles in the world,
               | it certainly sounds like it's not going in the right
               | direction for them.
               | 
               | - "BYD overtakes Tesla - sells the most electric cars" - 
               | https://www.mestmotor.se/automotorsport/artiklar/nyheter/
               | 202...
               | 
               | - "BYD beat Tesla - grew fastest in Sweden in 2023" -
               | https://carup.se/byd-slog-tesla-okade-snabbast-i-
               | sverige-202...
        
               | seanmcdirmid wrote:
               | Isn't this more like a Huawei vs Apple thing? BYD sells
               | more cars, Tesla makes more money (revenue and profit).
               | It will be more interesting to see what happens as BYD
               | moves more into model 3 territory.
        
               | ripjaygn wrote:
               | > BYD are selling the most cars, and is the fastest
               | growing in terms of sales in the country
               | 
               | Source? BYD aren't selling the most cars in Sweden.
               | 
               | > BYD beat Tesla - grew fastest in Sweden in 2023
               | 
               | Tesla sold 20K cars and BYD sold 3K in Sweden in 2023.
               | How is that beating Tesla? They went from 1.1K cars to
               | 3K, so had better percentage growth than Tesla
        
               | diggan wrote:
               | From one of the links in the comment you're replying to:
               | 
               | > Det ar i det sista kvartalet 2023 som BYD kan stoltsera
               | med battre siffror an Tesla. BYD rapporterar att de salt
               | 526 409 elbilar fran och med oktober och fram till arets
               | slut.
               | 
               | > Teslas forsaljning a sin sida slog rekord och blev den
               | hogsta for ett givet kvartal i tillverkarens historia.
               | Resultatet blev 484 507 bilar. 41 902 farre an BYD.
               | 
               | ---
               | 
               | > It is in the last quarter of 2023 that BYD can boast
               | better figures than Tesla. BYD reports that it sold
               | 526,409 electric cars from October through the end of the
               | year.
               | 
               | > Tesla's sales, on the other hand, broke records and
               | became the highest for a given quarter in the
               | manufacturer's history. The result was 484,507 cars.
               | 41,902 fewer than BYD.
        
               | belltaco wrote:
               | Just because it's in Swedish doesn't mean those are
               | Sweden numbers :)
               | 
               | Tesla outsold BYD in Sweden 6 times over.
        
           | rad_gruchalski wrote:
           | Well, the last example is unions in Sweden. I'm sure you can
           | google that yourself?
        
             | belltaco wrote:
             | They edited that in after I asked for sources instead of
             | putting it in a reply, and didn't mark it as a later edit.
             | Can't google something that's not there. Not to mention
             | google shows that Tesla sales increased in Sweden in Nov
             | and December 2023 compared to the same months in 2022.
        
               | diggan wrote:
               | FWIW, the comment you're replying to was created before I
               | made my edit. But no harm, no foul :)
        
               | rad_gruchalski wrote:
               | You asked for an example, I gave you the last example I
               | am aware of: https://apnews.com/article/tesla-strike-
               | union-sweden-labor-d....
        
               | belltaco wrote:
               | > About 130 mechanics at 10 Tesla garages across Sweden
               | walked off the job on Oct. 27 over the company's refusal
               | to sign a collective bargaining agreement
               | 
               | This is false reporting, only 10 to 30 of the 130
               | mechanics "walked off the job". The rest like their stock
               | options and performance based pay hikes instead of the
               | union table rates for all.
               | 
               | > About 130 mechanics at 10 Tesla garages across Sweden
               | walked off the job on Oct. 27 over the company's refusal
               | to sign a collective bargaining agreement
               | 
               | This is false reporting, only 10 to 30 of the 130
               | mechanics "walked off the job". The rest like their stock
               | options and performance based pay hikes instead of the
               | union table rates for all. A lot of other news outlets
               | picked up this false narrative.
               | 
               | The number of striking Tesla mechanics is so low that IF
               | Metall refuses to reveal how many are striking, and
               | recently expelled some Tesla employees for not obeying
               | their power play of striking.
               | 
               | https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/tesla-teknikern-jobbar-
               | trot...
               | 
               | https://www.na.se/2023-11-16/tesla-ar-den-basta-
               | arbetsgivare...
               | 
               | A lot of other news outlets picked up this false
               | narrative from AP and reporting that 130 employees are
               | striking.
               | 
               | The number of striking Tesla mechanics is so low that IF
               | Metall refuses to reveal how many are striking, and
               | recently expelled some Tesla employees for not obeying
               | their power play of striking.
               | 
               | Recently the NYT finally said only a few dozen are
               | striking. Sad to see previously trustworthy news outlets
               | like AP resorting to abject fake news to smear Tesla and
               | spread a narrative. And it's spread and repeated on
               | places like HN with no critical thinking or research.
        
         | paradite wrote:
         | Huh? Literally I've seen people on HN making the exact opposite
         | arguments about companies bending over rules for certain
         | markets only to lose the market eventually, hence considered a
         | bad example.
        
           | diggan wrote:
           | We're all different people on here (mostly at least), so
           | makes sense you see conflicting opinions :)
        
         | orenlindsey wrote:
         | You'll have to wait for more than 1 quarter before you make
         | that call.
        
           | diggan wrote:
           | Not according to the graph from the article: https://archive.
           | is/LOiYh/d4f25c5617954c2cd5c5e2de424334eacab...
        
         | gzer0 wrote:
         | And many people forget that BYD's number's are bolstered by the
         | fact that they sell one of their models for less than 10,000
         | euros. Of course they will have higher numbers at that price
         | point.
        
           | resolutebat wrote:
           | And this is a problem because...?
           | 
           | Tesla's building their cheap car too, but it will not launch
           | until 2025 earliest.
        
             | dylan604 wrote:
             | What is "cheap" in terms of Tesla? From my understanding of
             | issues with modern Teslas at full price, I'd hate to see
             | issues when they start cutting corners to make "cheap".
        
         | freitzkriesler2 wrote:
         | Lies, damned lies, statistics, and anything posted out of
         | China.
         | 
         | Any stat out of China I take with a heavy grain of salt.
        
         | seanmcdirmid wrote:
         | > I'm guessing that Musk's unwillingness to work with the rules
         | and norms in the markets Tesla is trying to enter, will be
         | Tesla's downfall.
         | 
         | Musk is perfectly willing to play by the rules and norms of the
         | Chinese market. They opened up a factory there and everything,
         | they are even selling lots of cars in the PRC while exporting
         | some outside.
         | 
         | I'm not sure how BYD would fair in Norway/Sweden; where unions
         | are granted blanket monopolies on economic control. Is it even
         | much of a player there yet?
        
           | dmoy wrote:
           | > I'm not sure how BYD would fair in Norway/Sweden
           | 
           | Pretty sure BWD is the top selling EV manufacturer in Sweden,
           | I recall reading that before the Tesla union shenanigans
           | happened.
           | 
           | No idea about Norway
        
             | seanmcdirmid wrote:
             | Does BYD use a dealership model in sweden like they do in
             | China? If so, they would just outsource all of those issues
             | to local parties.
        
               | eptcyka wrote:
               | They have their own showrooms in the cities.
        
               | seanmcdirmid wrote:
               | So they are following Tesla's direct model?
        
             | bryanlarsen wrote:
             | Those news headlines are very misleading. Most Tesla's, all
             | BYD's and certain Volvo models are imported from China on
             | large ships so will sell thousands in one month and
             | essentially zero in others. So while the BYD Atto 3 was the
             | best-selling car in a couple of the months of 2023, for
             | annual sales it is well behind the Tesla Y and Volvo XC40.
             | 
             | https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-
             | transportation/tesla-...
        
             | moogly wrote:
             | Luckily, all this information is publicly available and
             | searchable, and you will find that it is Tesla.
             | 
             | https://www.car.info/en-
             | se/stats?from=2023-02&to=2024-01&vd=...
        
             | chaosprint wrote:
             | It's not even close to Tesla here in Norway. Mostly because
             | the price is not as competitive as they are in China and
             | the system difference is another issue. Plus, the
             | psychology.
        
             | Briq7 wrote:
             | Top 20 new cars sales in Norway for 2023
             | 
             | Tesla Model Y: 23.088 cars (18,2 percent) Volkswagen ID.4:
             | 6614 cars (5,2 percent) Skoda Enyaq: 5740 cars (4,5
             | percent) Toyota bZ4X: 5395 cars (4,2 percent) Volvo XC40:
             | 5025 cars (4,0 percent) Ford Mustang Mach-E: 3792 cars (3,0
             | percent) Toyota Yaris: 3582 cars (2,8 percent) Toyota RAV4:
             | 3457 cars (2,7 percent) Volkswagen ID.3: 3141 cars (2,5
             | percent) Hyundai Kona: 2991 cars (2,4 percent) Audi Q4
             | e-tron: 2688 cars (2,1 percent) Nissan Ariya: 2606 cars
             | (2,1 percent) Nissan Leaf: 2471 cars (1,9 percent) BMW iX1:
             | 2415 cars (1,9 percent) Tesla Model 3: 2083 cars (1,6
             | percent) Toyota Corolla: 1911 cars (1,5 percent) Polestar
             | 2: 1832 cars (1,4 percent) BMW i4: 1782 cars (1,4 percent)
             | MG4: 1622 cars (1,3 percent) Audi Q8 e-tron: 1602 cars (1,3
             | percent)
        
           | piva00 wrote:
           | > I'm not sure how BYD would fair in Norway/Sweden; where
           | unions are granted blanket monopolies on economic control. Is
           | it even much of a player there yet?
           | 
           | Unions don't have blanket monopolies on economic control,
           | that's absolute bullshit...
           | 
           | I see quite a few BYDs here in Sweden. My girlfriend even got
           | one as a rental some 3-6 months ago.
        
             | seanmcdirmid wrote:
             | They were able to stop Tesla from sending vehicle
             | registrations in the mail. That is very powerful control of
             | economy, if not speech.
        
               | piva00 wrote:
               | They have power, it's different than "control".
               | 
               | The post workers union only decided on taking such action
               | due to Tesla bringing scabs to break the strike of their
               | own workers, that's such a huge no-no in the free market
               | of labour in Sweden that workers from other sections of
               | the economy decided to join on sympathy strikes.
               | 
               | I suggest you to educate yourself on how the labour
               | market works here in Sweden, how government interference
               | in it is extremely low, and with that decisions around
               | labour come mostly through agreements between employees
               | and employers; it's a core tenet of all labour
               | relationship over here and Tesla actively worked to break
               | it. If Tesla was actively acting to break a part of the
               | social contract of your nation, would you bend over and
               | say it's free speech?
               | 
               | Don't look at other countries with your local eyes, it's
               | absurdly ignorant, your rules are not my rules, learn
               | about our rules to be able to have an informed opinion.
        
         | JDDunn9 wrote:
         | Electric vehicles are more heavily subsidized in China than
         | America. 22% of new car sales in China are electric vs 1% in
         | America. China also has a lot of tariffs and regulations
         | preventing foreign competition.
        
           | adventured wrote:
           | > 22% of new car sales in China are electric vs 1% in America
           | 
           | Where are you getting 1% from? That's off by a drastic
           | amount.
           | 
           | "EV sales climb and are on track to be 9% of US new car
           | purchases in 2023"
           | 
           | "U.S. sales of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery-electric
           | vehicles reached 17.7% of new light-duty vehicle sales in the
           | third quarter"
           | 
           | https://www.utilitydive.com/news/electric-vehicles-EVs-
           | new-c...
           | 
           | https://apnews.com/article/automakers-electric-vehicles-
           | us-c...
        
         | onetom wrote:
         | I would be cautious believing these stats... How much of those
         | sales are real ones?
         | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SEfwoqKRU8
         | 
         | Their hybrid cars has serious problems, including catching fire
         | on their own. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXrsmYQvK8E
         | 
         | It's not like Tesla didn't have issues, but not so serious and
         | numerous ones.
        
         | starbase wrote:
         | Important detail: BYD's "EV" sales numbers include gasoline-
         | electric hybrids.
        
           | moogly wrote:
           | Not anymore. That was the thing the last time this was
           | (erroneously) reported.
        
             | starbase wrote:
             | incorrect. BYD sold 1,574,822 battery electric vehicles in
             | 2023. Tesla sold 1,808,581
             | 
             | https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2024/0101
             | /...
             | 
             | https://arstechnica.com/cars/2024/01/tesla-
             | sold-1-8-million-...
        
               | moogly wrote:
               | Over the year yes, but BYD outsold Tesla in Q4 (pure
               | BEV). That's what's been doing the news rounds this week.
        
         | rossjudson wrote:
         | Vehicles sold by price and region is useful. Total # of
         | vehicles sold is not. How many sold inside/outside of China? To
         | put it gently, EV sales in China have had an additional boost
         | from the government (which, btw, I think is good for the
         | planet).
         | 
         | The newer BYD vehicles are more comparable to Tesla (and other
         | manufacturers), but there's a long, long way to go before they
         | prove themselves more than a manufacturer of cheap cars.
         | 
         | Tesla has never been a manufacturer of cheap cars. More
         | recently, it has become a manufacturer of good ones.
         | 
         | The fundamentally simpler nature of EVs means they're rolling
         | software platforms, and the software matters a great deal.
         | Tesla has gotten good at the software side of the equation, and
         | are arguably ahead of pretty much everything else.
        
           | christkv wrote:
           | I would not trust any sales numbers from the Chinese internal
           | market as they have a long history of faking them for various
           | reasons. This includes doing things like registering the car
           | (counting as sale) and then just parking them on a lot.
           | 
           | https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevetengler/2023/07/19/the-
           | thr...
        
         | osigurdson wrote:
         | What would new leadership really do? Make a T-150?
        
         | jbm wrote:
         | Musk Derangement Syndrome on the first comment about a
         | different car company making a very interesting product. I also
         | saw this in comments in articles about Boeing and Toyota this
         | week.
         | 
         | Is there a browser mod to hide comments like this? Bonus points
         | if it hides the snide demoralization-style comments that have
         | started infesting HN too ("Oh you are a software engineer? Let
         | me tell you why you are ignorant without knowing anything about
         | you")
        
       | madaxe_again wrote:
       | Dare I ask why an EV would need a snorkel? Air cooling?
        
         | joshuanapoli wrote:
         | It also has a gasoline engine.
        
           | alamortsubite wrote:
           | Which the article says shuts down immediately when the
           | vehicle starts floating. So maybe it mostly serves as the
           | same reverse status symbol as snorkels on other SUV.
        
             | sangnoir wrote:
             | The vehicle also wades in water up to 1000mm (1400mm when
             | lifted), so that snorkel may be useful under those
             | conditions and not when floating.
        
       | osti wrote:
       | It can also do 360 degree self centered turn, which should be
       | useful. No more 3 point turns!
       | 
       | Given the flexibility of installing the motors, I've always
       | wondered why electric cars still can't move in a parallel way.
       | That should be very handy when parallel parking.
        
         | reliablereason wrote:
         | > handy when parallel parking.
         | 
         | If you love switching tires.
        
           | pclmulqdq wrote:
           | This is a feature that should only be used for off-roading.
           | Off roads, it is extremely useful to be able to make small-
           | radius turns.
        
             | iancmceachern wrote:
             | A 4 ton thing doing this on the trails I go on would
             | destroy them.
             | 
             | I hope people don't actually do it.
        
               | pclmulqdq wrote:
               | In my past times off-roading, trails and dirt roads have
               | usually been very generous with places to turn. Not so
               | much when you are off a trail or a road.
        
               | iancmceachern wrote:
               | Exactly, and unless you are on private property or BLM
               | land you are also generally not supposed to be driving
               | off the trails or roads. So there isn't much use for this
               | other than on private property or on BLM land.
        
         | bink wrote:
         | Rivian advertised this feature as well but disabled it, for
         | obvious reasons.
        
           | jjtheblunt wrote:
           | Obvious reason is immediate tire wear?
        
             | osti wrote:
             | I think I wasn't being clear, the wheels basically have to
             | rotate perpendicularly to the cars body, so there wouldn't
             | be any extra tire wear.
        
               | jjtheblunt wrote:
               | What? If left wheels are in reverse and right wheels in
               | forward then the treads are wearing sideways against the
               | rotation!
        
           | gambiting wrote:
           | What's the reason? It's not obvious to me at all, sorry.
        
             | jandrese wrote:
             | It shreds your tires.
        
               | gambiting wrote:
               | ...why? Doesn't it do it by using 4 wheel steer?
        
               | starbase wrote:
               | nope. Rivian spins the left wheels forward and the right
               | wheels backwards, or vice versa
        
               | gambiting wrote:
               | Oh. Yeah that's not great.
        
         | raisedbyninjas wrote:
         | Hyundai is experimenting with this.
        
         | moffkalast wrote:
         | Presumably because the typical EV is already priced
         | uncompetitively enough without two extra rear wheel steering
         | servos that would allow for it.
        
         | resolutebat wrote:
         | It can only do the 360 deg turn _while floating_ , which rather
         | limits its utility.
        
           | alamortsubite wrote:
           | At the end of the article there's an embedded video showing
           | the vehicle doing a tank turn on pavers. The tire
           | manufacturers will love it.
        
       | tetris11 wrote:
       | Climate change will cause tons of flooding. I wont be surprised
       | at the people who jump at a car like this.
        
         | belter wrote:
         | Meaning...You will avoid the hoards of hungry zombies, but
         | still make it on time for golf?
        
         | bink wrote:
         | Does it come with a propeller and rudder? What's the point of
         | floating if you have no control over where you end up?
        
           | yial wrote:
           | It sounds like it uses the wheels and tires to provide slight
           | control and speed.
        
             | raisedbyninjas wrote:
             | So if there is any wind at all, your luxury SUV is just
             | going to get blown around wherever the wind blows. I've
             | personally never been to a lake with no wind. Maybe it's
             | useful foolishly ford a washed washed out road and get
             | swept down-river.
        
               | lambdasquirrel wrote:
               | I wouldn't say it's that bad. 3km/hr is roughly the speed
               | of a rec kayak, and people paddle those. But of course,
               | it might create a false sense of security because weather
               | that'd cause flooding...
        
           | AnarchismIsCool wrote:
           | It has four wheel motors so theoretically it can steer to
           | some degree in still water. Turing the wheels creates some
           | force from water resistance.
        
           | roughly wrote:
           | It's often better than sinking.
           | 
           | They do say it can propel itself at 3km/hr and also turn in
           | the water by spinning the wheels.
        
             | lambdasquirrel wrote:
             | 3km / hr does not get you very far if you're paddling
             | against a current. I hope that no one abuses the feature or
             | use it to do the dumb things people often do when they see
             | a flooded road.
        
         | hgomersall wrote:
         | Cue idiots that think they can drive across a river in spate
         | because they can float.
        
           | lambdasquirrel wrote:
           | I'd also worry about how well the car's bottom deals with
           | underwater obstructions. And of course that people who own
           | this car would engage in the same sort of shenanigans that we
           | see with Tesla Autopilot.
           | 
           | The car's interior is a welcome bit of originality compared
           | to the styling in the usual high-end offerings.
        
       | api wrote:
       | I see China coming for the US auto industry, and fast.
       | 
       | It's 100% the fault of our industry for sitting around doing
       | nothing but repackaging old technology in overpriced chonker
       | trucks and trying to obstruct the EV transition with
       | disinformation. All they want to do is sell the same mediocre gas
       | guzzler forever.
       | 
       | Innovators' dilemma strikes again.
       | 
       | Of course I guess Japan decimated US auto last time. It was kinda
       | the same deal. US companies just wanted to sell super heavy low
       | tech V8 gas guzzlers like the Ford LTD. Japan came with reliable
       | efficient cars and ate out the market.
       | 
       | I'm sure they'll get more bailouts.
        
         | bushbaba wrote:
         | Japanese car makers have huge U.S. presence with U.S.
         | engineering employees. SuspectD will be asked to do the same.
        
         | slim wrote:
         | I see China coming for the US auto industry, and fast.
         | 
         | that would be the case if US was a free market. Any Chinese
         | product will be banned if it becomes too successful
        
         | rgmerk wrote:
         | The USA has effectively excluded Chinese cars from its home
         | market.
         | 
         | In Europe and Asia the Chinese makers are rapidly increasing
         | market share, to the considerable chagrin of other
         | manufacturers.
        
       | speedgoose wrote:
       | 4 tons as an hybrid with only 50kWh of battery. You would need a
       | truck driving license in Europe, and a speed limit of 80km/h.
        
         | VBprogrammer wrote:
         | Yeah, I doubt we'll ever see on in the UK because of licensing
         | issues.
         | 
         | That said, it's also range extended so 50kWh is ample. I would
         | hazard a guess it would do about 100 miles on battery alone.
        
           | gambiting wrote:
           | It literally says in the article - the EV only range is
           | 180km(about 110 miles), the fuel tank is 75 litres, giving it
           | a combined range of 1000km(600 miles).
           | 
           | Tbh that's an awful combined range and it shows how heavy and
           | inefficient the car is. My Volvo XC60 PHEV only has about
           | 50km EV-only range, but combined with its 75 litre tank it
           | can easily do 1000km, no problem.
        
             | manmal wrote:
             | Both can do 1k km on 75l, so apart from the Volvo's smaller
             | battery, where's the difference for the end user? I think
             | it's a waste of materials to build such cars, but given the
             | weight the consumption seems impressive.
        
               | gambiting wrote:
               | Both cars are plug in hybrids - you need to charge them
               | externally to get the most out of them. BYD needs
               | literally 5x the electricity of the Volvo(50kWh Vs 10kWh)
               | for the same range, so the owner is definitely going to
               | notice it on their energy bill.
        
               | buran77 wrote:
               | > BYD needs literally 5x the electricity of the
               | Volvo(50kWh Vs 10kWh) for the same range
               | 
               | Which "same range"? Did you just calculate electric
               | efficiency using the total range including gasoline?
               | Because then your PHEV needs an infinite times the
               | electricity of a car driving on gasoline alone.
               | 
               | If anything on paper the U8 is 10% more efficient (Volvo
               | says 50km from the 15kWh battery, not 10kWh). With
               | gasoline factored in you have two vehicles with equal
               | 1000km range despite the U8 being significantly heavier.
               | 
               | You can argue that the CLTC is not nearly as accurate as
               | the WLTP and you'd be right but you still need to check
               | your math and/or logic above.
        
         | Faaak wrote:
         | Yeah, as an EU, this truc is ridiculously heavy and big. Well
         | most cars produced nowadays are too.. :(
        
       | m3kw9 wrote:
       | This is a level above companies marking suvs as off-road
       | vehicles, now can float on water 30min before sinking.
        
         | moffkalast wrote:
         | I'm really puzzled by the 30 min part, things either seal or
         | they don't. I wonder if it's a genuine limitation or just
         | another one of those standards where devices are tested for 1
         | hour at 1 meter depth and that's what they advertise.
        
           | huytersd wrote:
           | They have those on watches too. Water proof for 1 hour at
           | 200m or whatever.
        
       | johnhenry wrote:
       | Does it just stink after 30 minutes?
        
         | belter wrote:
         | Not if it's Perrier water.
        
           | belter wrote:
           | Or maybe you were thinking about something else?
           | 
           | https://youtu.be/7C-vYY3SBDE
        
       | unglaublich wrote:
       | I'm afraid of the hellscape of even more of these tanks on the
       | road, and even on water now.
        
         | iancmceachern wrote:
         | Yes, this is not environmentally friendly
        
           | boudin wrote:
           | And not human friendly neither, don't want to be involved in
           | an accident with such a car
        
       | _fw wrote:
       | This looks a great deal like the Defender that Land Rover
       | introduced in 2018.
        
       | avar wrote:
       | A car that floats ... but only with a mandatory fully open
       | sunroof ... in a part of the world that gets typhoons.
       | 
       | Is the 30 minute time limitation an estimate on how long it'll
       | take to fill it up in the rain with an open sunroof?
        
         | resolutebat wrote:
         | The floating is meant to be an emergency only feature that
         | requires a dealer inspection afterwards every time it's
         | activated.
        
       | sourcecodeplz wrote:
       | Daaamn.
        
       | stephenr wrote:
       | I'm sure it's because of the weight, but only 1000km range from
       | the batteries *and* a 75L fuel tank is kind of shit.
        
       | Zetobal wrote:
       | The first time I have seen AI generated images being used by a
       | big brand like BYD. The cars are still CGI but the backgrounds
       | are AI generated.
        
         | dylan604 wrote:
         | I just assumed it was a really _really_ big car when compared
         | to a horse. It must provide ample head room for a human if that
         | 's the ratio. I guess it could be a Shetland pony or something
         | if I were to be generous, but of course it's just bad AI.
         | 
         | https://carnewschina.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/04-Yangw...
        
       | seanmcdirmid wrote:
       | This kind of car pretty important for China. They are still way
       | behind on drainage in major cities, it isn't uncommon to see
       | under road passes flooded during heavy spring rains. Japan would
       | have the same problem, but they've sunk billions into drainage,
       | the Tokyo drainage system is a world wonder at this point.
        
       | charles_f wrote:
       | I'm wondering how many of these $150k+ effectively ever hit even
       | a dirt road. Notwithstanding how heavy it is.
        
         | rgmerk wrote:
         | The same proportion of G-class Benzes, Range Rovers and Lexus
         | LXes that go off-road.
        
           | charles_f wrote:
           | Well these are included, I was referring to the general
           | $150k+ off-road looking tank category.
        
       | practice9 wrote:
       | That car's exterior is uglier than Cybertruck
        
       | Animats wrote:
       | Well, why not? There's a market for big, overpriced barge trucks.
        
       | femto wrote:
       | Fun fact: The original VW beetle could do this for half an hour
       | or so [1]. There was a (1960s?) article in "Modern Motor",
       | whereby someone tested it and found that there was at least some
       | control, as the tyres provided enough paddle action to move
       | forward and the front wheels acted as rudders.
       | 
       | Their floating inspired some to modify beetles to really make
       | them amphibious [2,3].
       | 
       | Even if it officially floats, I wouldn't like to go up against a
       | flooded river in a 4WD [4]. In this example, the wheels snagged
       | and flipped the car.
       | 
       | [1] https://www.arnoldclark.com/newsroom/527-why-do-
       | volkswagen-b...
       | 
       | [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQiS4paC_sk
       | 
       | [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rRwzPz6rzs
       | 
       | [4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZNkgixXl7U
        
       | drivingmenuts wrote:
       | Cool car idea, but I wish someone would sit down with them to
       | come up with a new model name. "YangWang" doesn't sound like
       | something I'd want to tall people I own.
       | 
       | If I could afford one, that is.
        
       | ornornor wrote:
       | > the comprehensive range with a full battery and 75-liter fuel
       | tank is 1000 km.
       | 
       | > 3,950 kg
       | 
       | > 5 seats
       | 
       | That's just ridiculous. And did anyone really need a floating car
       | in emergencies? How often are people actually in that situation?
        
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