Chinese cars

The point was (reiterating) that in an attempt to compete with the chinese - musk is devaluing his existing 2nd hand market -
he had previously made controversial price 'cuts' too, with angry owners, as new cars were as cheap as second hand ones.

... Versus starmer in his favouritism of China at the moment (reduced ev tarifs vs eu, collapsed trial last week, upcoming visit ) does appear to be driving BYD expansion&record UK sales.
to the detriment of UK brands Nissan, or EU cars; it's not like BYD is building a factory here, perhaps just waiting for empty premises.
 
BYD is selling good EVs at low prices - speeding up the transition to electric.

Having good cheap cars available is good for the business as well - makes UK companies slightly more competitive on the international markets.

But it is true that Chinese dominance of the car industry will have negative consequences.

 
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I've had my Xpeng G6 LR for about a week and half now and have done ~500miles or so.

Really enjoying the experience so far. Quick enough, very quiet, app and infotainment are brilliant and it is hitting over 300miles range. I've done it through salary sacrifice so I get car, tax, insurance, breakdown cover, servicing and tyres for less than I was paying for just car loan, tax and insurance on my 67 plate 530e.

There are a few quirks. The inbuilt e-sim thinks I am in France, the Amazon prime app is not fully an app - just a web wrapper that takes you to the full Amazon site, and the radio signal is a bit poor.
 
dante6491 said:
I've had my Xpeng G6 LR for about a week and half now and have done ~500miles or so.

Really enjoying the experience so far. Quick enough, very quiet, app and infotainment are brilliant and it is hitting over 300miles range. I've done it through salary sacrifice so I get car, tax, insurance, breakdown cover, servicing and tyres for less than I was paying for just car loan, tax and insurance on my 67 plate 530e.

There are a few quirks. The inbuilt e-sim thinks I am in France, the Amazon prime app is not fully an app - just a web wrapper that takes you to the full Amazon site, and the radio signal is a bit poor.
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Do you correct everyone who calls it an 'ex-peng' or just roll with it? :p

I still don't think I've seen one out on the roads which may mean that are just fairly inconspicuous.

Seen a few Leapmotors now and the weird brake light thing they do on auto hold is super annoying! Hopefully one not to be copied by other manufacturers.
 
lordrobs said:
Seen a few Leapmotors now and the weird brake light thing they do on auto hold is super annoying! Hopefully one not to be copied by other manufacturers.
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What is it that they do? I've not seen one on the road yet.
Saw another Cyberster coming the other way this afternoon. I definitely prefer the front view to the back.
 
Rilot said:
What is it that they do? I've not seen one on the road yet.
Saw another Cyberster coming the other way this afternoon. I definitely prefer the front view to the back.
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They pulse the light bar like some kind of homage to knight rider :p Looks tacky as hell.
 
SkyTerran said:
BYD is selling good EVs at low prices - speeding up the transition to electric.

Having good cheap cars available is good for the business as well - makes UK companies slightly more competitive on the international markets.

But it is true that Chinese dominance of the car industry will have negative consequences.

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Happened a few times now, with Tesla as well. Electronic door locks need banning, you should always be able to easily open them mechanically from either side.

EV fires in general are becoming a problem. Yea they happen in all cars (but not usually when they are just parked). But these EV fires are doing massive amounts of damage.
 
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are most (ALL??) of the fires NMC batteries - but for a car that predominately just rolled over like that xiaomo there must be some kind of safety report/explanation;
the Blade lfp battery advertising where they drill through a battery with no effect is a nod to safety, even if they don't put it in a car crusher.
(yes even with the teslas with obscure mechanical door release you need to provide a safety-briefing.)
 
Nasher said:
Happened a few times now, with Tesla as well. Electronic door locks need banning, you should always be able to easily open them mechanically from either side.

EV fires in general are becoming a problem. Yea they happen in all cars (but not usually when they are just parked). But these EV fires are doing massive amounts of damage.
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Considering 65% of vehicle fires are arson, I'd say the majority of fires are when the vehicle is parked.
 
I will agree that cars need to auto unlock in any accident and indeed they are designed to in theory... but that has nothing to do with EVs, and as already said, an EV is far less likely to be involved in a car fire than ICE vehicles (what is easier to make combust a car battery or a leaking tank of petrol next to a red hot engine/exhaust system with potential for sparks as well?

OTOH i can see why it is a hard one to solve....... in an ideal world a car would always be openable from outside incase the people inside are unable to open the door..... but thanks to criminal elements that will never work as people in some areas have to drive with their doors locked to be safe.

A few years ago - before EVs were common place - a family of...... i think it was 5 people accidentally drove down a slip into a harbour in the UK. the car was in single digit feet of water but the electrics failed and no one could get in or out. 2 parents and 2 kids died (again iirc) and the only survivor was a baby because a rear window was open and someone was able to pass the baby out as they sank.

that happening is why, to this day both our cars have small glass safety hammers in the glove box to at least give us a chance of getting out if we get trapped. it is horrific. (I keep meaning to replace them actually with a better system which punches the glass with a simple button press)

and also a very disingenuous way of trying to make EVs out to be inherently dangerous. That crash could have been a petrol car which set on fire after an accident and the same locking issue could have happened
 
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If a car is badly accident damaged, the doors are more likely to be physically jammed shut rather than a total electrical failure. No manual locks are helping you there, you need the jaws.

I couldn’t follow your plan @bigmike20vt, the release for my glove box is electronically controlled! Not sure I’d want the hammers unsecured in the cabin in case they come lose in a crash and smack me on the head.
 
you have an electric glove box? that seems a pointless feature if ever there was one. In general i do think cars across the board are becoming to complicated for their own good but that isn't just a Chinese car problem so is probably a rant for another thread :D.

in my car the hammer is secured in the central box, in my wifes the glove box.
 
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Yup the glovebox has an electronic release, it’s not the only car to have one.

You can do stuff like put a PIN code on the release button so say a mechanic or valet couldn’t open it. That said, the mechanism is plastic so it will not keep out a determined thief.

I forgot about the centre console - doh!
 
I agree with a few of the past comments about a window hammer or two being kept in the car within easy reach in an emergency. I'd suggest getting one with a cutter for the seatbelt as well.

My escape plan is to smash the panoramic sunroof if there was such a need as the windows of the front doors are double glazed/laminated and might not be so easy to break.
 
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