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Europe has accused Chinese EV makers of receiving government subsidies that give them an unfair advantage in the market, hurting European automakers. Last year, the EU
launched an investigation and says it could result in extra tariffs imposed on Chinese imports.
China has denied this and says its EV growth is due to the superiority of its products, But a new study from Germany's Keel Institute says that BYD has received at least three point seven billion dollars in direct government subsidies. The
report says it's also benefiting from receiving aid for battery manufacturing and rebates to customers buying its vehicles. The Keel Institute says subsidies like these have allowed Chinese automakers
to quote scale up rapidly, to dominate the Chinese market and to facilitate increasing expansion into EU markets. But subsidies aren't the only thing that europe is worried
about. The Financial Times reports that Chinese evs are starting to pile up at
several ports in the region. Because companies are struggling to find enough trucks and
drivers to transport them out of the ports, some vehicles have been sitting for up to eighteen months. The report also says that some Chinese companies are shipping
vehicles without making arrangements to transport them out, and because of that, some ports are now asking importers for proof that they'll be hauled out once they arrive.
Some industry experts are even speculating that Chinese automakers are using European ports as car parks for vehicles that they're struggling to sell in China and sticking with Europe for the moment. Regulators find automakers five hundred and ten million euros or five
hundred and fifty two million bucks for missing CO two emission targets in twenty twenty.
That was the first year that stricter standards went into place that required more EV and hybrid sales, but automakers have since been able to avoid getting hit with fines by joining emission pools with other automakers. In twenty twenty one,
Honda and JLR joined with Tesla, and the Volkswagen Group partnered with Saic's MG brand and Thanks to that strategy and an increase in EV and p HAVE sales, automakers will only fined ten million euros in twenty twenty one and in twenty twenty two. Bugatti was the only brand to miss its emission targets, but
since it's a low volume manufacturer it only sold thirty vehicles in twenty twenty two, it was not subjected to a fine. When the elements are working against
you, being confident in your grip on the road is what really matters.
Breach through in the lens, attires, improved acceleration in wet conditions. German
companies in China feel that they're being treated unfairly. According to a survey by
the German Chamber of Commerce in China, sixty five percent of the respondents of the survey, representing one hundred and fifty companies, say that they see unfair competition in the form of difficulty in reaching government officials, lack of access to tax incentives in public funding. Though the published results of the survey did not
specifically include German automakers, they were likely included, and that leads us to our next story. Traditional automakers increasingly have their eyes on India. As potentially
the greatest growth market over the next couple of decades. Car markets in the
US, Europe, Japan, and South Korea are saturated and it's becoming increasingly difficult for the traditionals to compete in China. Since India has the largest population
in the world, with one point four billion people, the potential to sell a lot of cars there is enormous. Last year, sales hit four point
four million vehicles, making India the fourth largest car market in the world after China, the US and Japan, and it's growing fast. Last month,
sales were up eight point four percent, and sixty percent of that growth came from SUVs and bigger cars, not the compacts that have dominated the market.
Ev sales are low, but they are growing fast, with Indian customers buying ninety one thousand of them last year. So the Indian market is starting to
mature into the kind of market that is a lot more attractive to traditional automakers.
But traditional automakers are not the only ones interested in India. As we've
been reporting for some time now, Tasla wants to start making cars there, and Bloom reports that the different states in India are jocking to land a Tesla assembly plant. It says the state of Tamil Nadu in the south of the
country is pulling out all the stops to attract Elon Musk. It already has
plants for Renault, Nissan, Hondi and BMW and is called the Detroit of India. Elon Musk will travel to India in about a week and we'll meet
with the country's Prime Minister and we wouldn't be surprised to see him announce where a new plant will be located. Solid state batteries are seen as the next
big step in cell technology, but so far no one has come out with a full solid state battery. However, it looks like Chinese automaker GAC will
be one of the first. It says it will launch an all solid state
battery pack in twenty twenty six in its NV brand. Hyper solid state refers
to the type of electrolyte in the battery, typically some sort of stiff or solid polymer, rather than a liquid electrolyte that's used in traditional lithium ion batteries.
The advantages are higher energy densities, better safety, and less impact on performance from temperature. GAC says its battery has an energy density over four hundred
watt hours per kilogram, which is up to fifty percent more than some traditional lithium batteries, and it will provide ranges over one thousand kilometers or six hundred and twenty miles. It can also withstand a puncture or cut and up to
two hundred degrees celsius or three hundred and ninety two fahrenheit and still operate, So you can see why automakers are so eager to bring out these kinds of batteries. Even compared to consumers from all over the world, Chinese car buyers
are much more in tune with the latest tech and want to see it in their vehicles as soon as possible. One of the pieces of tech we're seeing
greater interest in is generative AI like chat. GPT can be applied to practically
every level vehicle development, and a popular application seems to be for infotainment systems, and Neo is giving its in cabin assistant called Nomi an upgrade. Right
now, it can do things like tell jokes or let you know what the weather's like, but the new version called no Me GPT will be able to learn and gain a personality over time. It's also getting emotions, so interactions
with the user will see more natural and it will be able to tap into the web so we'll know just about anything. Neo has already started rolling out
no megpt to vehicles with a compatible system. BYD has its site set on
more than just China, Australia and Africa for its new pickup truck Car News China got pictures of it testing in Mexico and shows that it's built on the automaker's DMO platform, which will initially allow it to launch with a plug in hybrid powertrain. BYD says it will offer around three one hundred and fifty kilowatts
are about four hundred and eighty horse power one hundred kilometers or sixty two miles of all electric range in an active suspension system. BYD has been showing off
this truck a lot lately, and it's expected to get its sales license for China sometime this month. That brings us to the end of today's show.
Thanks for tuning in, and I hope that you have a great weekend.
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About this episode
The episode discusses the controversy over Chinese EV subsidies, highlighting a German study revealing BYD's $3.7 billion government support and the EU's investigation into unfair competition. It also covers the backlog of Chinese EVs at European ports due to logistical issues, and the growing interest of traditional automakers in India's expanding market, with Tesla planning a plant there. Advances in solid-state battery technology from Chinese automaker GAC and the integration of generative AI in vehicles, like Neo's evolving in-cabin assistant, are also explored. BYD's new pickup truck testing outside China rounds out the discussion.
- Study Says BYD Received $3.7 Billion In Subsidies - Chinese EVs Piling Up in European Ports - EU Fined Automakers $552 Million For CO2 Emissions In 2020 - German Companies Say They’re Being Treated Unfairly in China - India Now 4th Largest Car Market in The World - India States Try to Lure Tesla Plant - GAC’s Hyper Brand to Use Solid-State Batteries - Nio Integrates Generative AI into Its Vehicles - BYD Tests Pickup in Mexico