Electric Vehicles (EV) Thread

[2/cb]

^To be honest, I agree with you but if I buy a TV or lawn mower in Thailand, it's made in China so I don't see any difference with buying a car, it’s just another consumer product.
Thailand doesn't manufacture a domestic EV anyway so it's not like there's a choice.

Surely, the big question is, based on the factors mentioned in this report, is what's in it for Thailand? What gain is there? All the gain is for BYD and China. It makes little sense.

BYD: saving the planet one major fire at a time.

[Dannie Boy]

^To be honest, I agree with you but if I buy a TV or lawn mower in Thailand, it's made in China so I don't see any difference with buying a car, it’s just another consumer product.
Thailand doesn't manufacture a domestic EV anyway so it's not like there's a choice.

Surely, the big question is, based on the factors mentioned in this report, is what's in it for Thailand? What gain is there? All the gain is for BYD and China. It makes little sense.

BYD: saving the planet one major fire at a time.

Of all the EV makers, you’ve chosen the one that has one of the safest battery technology currently available!! Muppet
https://www.byd.com/eu/blog/BYDs-revolu ... ed-to-know

[STEVE G]

A BYD Dolphin Was Driven 140,000 Miles. Here's How It Held Up

A rideshare driver in Brazil has piled on more than 100,000 miles in two years. The results seem promising.

The Brazil-spec BYD Dolphin uses a 94 horsepower motor, fed by a 45 kWh battery. It is rated for 251 miles of range (405 km) in Brazil.
This car was used as a rideshare vehicle, primarily.
It has had routine maintenance, including its electric motor's coolant and oil changed at the 200,000 km (124,000 miles) mark.

One of the biggest question marks with Chinese vehicles is “How long will they last?” And I have to admit that we don’t really know.

As a whole, Chinese brands are generally all new and have come a long way in a very short amount of time. The rightful perception of old, unreliable and poorly-made Chinese knockoff clones from the late aughties may not hold up against the modern and sleek EVs of China’s new era. Still, this is all so new that we won’t know just how well these things will wear until more are on the roads—nor is such data readily available to Western sources.

But owner accounts can give us a good idea. Chinese cars have made inroads into Latin America for quite a while now. Brazil, in particular, has had BYD’s electric cars and hybrids for a little over two years, starting with the Dolphin and Dolphin Mini (Seagull). One guy, known on YouTube as “Gilson,” has good experience with BYD’s cars. He’s got several videos about higher-mile BYD products, one of which is a Dolphin that is cruising north of 135,000

A few days ago, he posted a walkaround of a 220,000 kilometer (135,000 mile) BYD Dolphin, which has amassed this amount of miles in the two years it's been on the road. Like all the other Brazil-spec BYD Dolphins, this car has the same 95 horsepower electric motor turning the front wheels, fed by a 45 kWh battery. BYD says this car is good for 251 miles (405 km) on a single charge, according to NEDC standards.


In the two years the car has been in service, the presenter says that there’s not much that’s gone wrong with the car. It still has its original brake pads and rotors, even. “No, it’s still in order. I have nothing to complain about,” said Mr. Elio, a rideshare driver contracted out through Gilson’s company. The driver even said that the car still consistently shows its maximum 405 km (251 miles) range.

Gilson also partially credits the car’s longevity to staying up on routine maintenance. In 220,000 the car has had its coolant and electric motor differential fluids replaced. During its 200,000 km (124,000 miles) video, they also swapped the brake fluid, since it is recommended to do a complete flush every other year.

The only real wear on the car would be its interior. After more than 100,000 miles worth of passengers, the faux leather (vinyl) could use a deep clean to remove the body oils and soil that have accumulated on the car. It’s still generally clean and tidy, though.
https://insideevs.com/news/761870/byd-d ... rm-brazil/

[pharvey]

The cause of the fire (or whether BYD vehicles were involved) certainly not proven, but not a great advert for EV's (or Lithium batteries).....

An Abandoned Ship Full of EVs is Burning in the Pacific

"A cargo ship transporting 3,000 cars was abandoned in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday after a massive fire broke out. As of Friday, the ship was still burning. The blaze may have been fueled by the vehicles’ lithium-ion batteries, which are notoriously difficult to extinguish once ignited.

The ship, named Morning Midas, was reportedly carrying 3,000 cars on a journey from Yantai, China to Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico. Of those vehicles, about 750 were fully electric or partial hybrids, powered at least in part by large lithium‑ion batteries that can short‑circuit and ignite extremely hot fires. Although the exact cause has yet to be determined, the Morning Midas crew reported smoke rising from the deck around midnight on Tuesday.

A representative from Zodiac Maritime, a UK-based ship manager overseeing the vessel, told The Register that the 22 sailors on board responded to the fire on Tuesday and attempted to extinguish it using the available onboard fire suppression systems. It wasn’t enough. As the blaze grew out of control, the crew reportedly issued a distress call and abandoned the ship in lifeboats. A nearby merchant vessel responded and rescued all 22 sailors, according to a statement released by the U.S. Coast Guard.

As for the Morning Midas, it remains afloat and burning in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, approximately 304 miles south of Adak, Alaska. It’s unclear what makes or models of cars were aboard—or whether any of them will be recoverable."

https://www.popsci.com/technology/an-ab ... e-pacific/

[STEVE G]

BYD have started selling their smallest car in Europe, it’s called the Seagull in some markets but the Dolphin Surf here, it’s not a bad looking car considering that it starts at under 20,000 euros.
Mind you, that's about double what it costs in China but still a reasonable deal considering the competition:

[Dannie Boy]

The reviews I’ve seen rate it in the 5-6/10 category so not great but not too bad!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[STEVE G]

At the other end of the market, a Chinese telephone company that only started making cars four years has just got the production car EV lap record at the Nurburgring:

The Xiaomi SU7 Ultra is now the Nurburgring’s fastest electric production car
https://www.topgear.com/car-news/electr ... uction-car

[pharvey]

^ I would hope their safety/security record is a tad better than their phones.

It does however go to show the advantage that Chinese companies have over their Western counterparts. "Technological Thievery" and massive Government support seems to pay off.

[STEVE G]

^Yes, I agree about the massive government support but why isn't the west promoting the future?

[dundrillin]

looks like Neta is in big trouble

[pharvey]

^Yes, I agree about the massive government support but why isn't the west promoting the future?

There's many questions to be asked of certain governments at the moment that's for sure.

looks like Neta is in big trouble

Can't say I'd ever heard of them, but looking them up, it certainly does look like things aren't exactly going to plan. Factory closure, sales plummeting, problems with supply chains..... Is the EV market simply saturated with Chinese products?

[pharvey]

^Yes, I agree about the massive government support but why isn't the west promoting the future?

There's many questions to be asked of certain governments at the moment that's for sure.

looks like Neta is in big trouble

Can't say I'd ever heard of them, but looking them up, it certainly does look like things aren't exactly going to plan. Factory closure, sales plummeting, problems with supply chains..... Is the EV market simply saturated with Chinese products?

[EDIT] I seem to remember the building/construction sector getting massive support from the Chinese government with numerous companies taking advantage leading to a huge construction boom. Hundreds of buildings (even towns) now sit empty after the bubble burst. Are we about to witness the same (or similar) in the (Chinese) EV market?

[caller]

but looking them up, it certainly does look like things aren't exactly going to plan. Factory closure, sales plummeting, problems with supply chains..... Is the EV market simply saturated with Chinese products?

I seem to remember the building/construction sector getting massive support from the Chinese government with numerous companies taking advantage leading to a huge construction boom. Hundreds of buildings (even towns) now sit empty after the bubble burst. Are we about to witness the same (or similar) in the (Chinese) EV market?

To a degree, it's already happening.

I was surprised this report in the BP on 6th June, never made it onto here, because its exactly as pharvey states.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/ge ... -price-war

[STEVE G]

^There’s bound to be a period of intense competition that many companies won't survive.
It was the same in the early days of petrol car production, in the start of the 1920s there were over 180 manufacturers in the UK alone and the vast majority of them fell by the wayside.

[pharvey]

^There’s bound to be a period of intense competition that many companies won't survive.
It was the same in the early days of petrol car production, in the start of the 1920s there were over 180 manufacturers in the UK alone and the vast majority of them fell by the wayside.

I don't think there's any question over competition Steve - I'm just wondering whether the huge financial incentives/"support" provided by the Chinese government will do more harm than good in certain respects and in the long term. Not only to the Chinese market, but Globally at the end of the day. Western companies certainly can't compete on price and then there's the restrictions on supply chain (Rare Earth Metals, Magnets et al) where China holds the majority of the cards.

There is the potential supply in the Ukraine, hence Trump's (only) interest in the region.