If it's a short distance town car, then it's no good for China where China's cities are also big and for intra-city transportation, they've got TONS of alternatives already, bicycles (yes people still ride them over there), tricycles (to haul the bigger loads), scooters, mopeds, electric bicycles..., all much smaller, easier to maneuver and easier to park. And then if they want to drive a car, they, just like us, would prefer to drive a real car. So I am not sure how well that $5K car would sell there even with the incentives and all. I would think a hybrid would do much better over there just like in here. You use electricity only when driving within the city and then use gasoline when needed for longer trips.
Here is another potential reason. AFAIK, the US car makers had designed and developed electric cars many years ago before they quietly dropped the project for mass production. Most likely due to they could not secure the rare earth metals supply that could be easily produced economically in US. That could be also why the US until now still delaying the climate change issue, due to heavily relying on petrol cars. https://elitetrader.com/et/threads/the-limits-of-made-in-america-economics.311526/ Besides China, Australia would be an alternative source. Or other space planets, as Musk would be keen to see/explore.
Why wouldn't it be suited if the other side of town is less than 40 miles away for commuting??? Hell it could be a 3rd car for the teenager just to learn how to drive. If he/she totals it big deal, and you as a parent don't want them to speed or make road trips anyway... The obvious thing is that they pay for labor in Chines 50 cents an hour and not $50. Let's say it takes 20 work hours to make the car, that is 1K just in labor cost, 20% of the car in America, but only less than 1% in China...
The Baojun E100 has a top speed of 100 kilometers an hour, or 62 miles an hour. http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/07/autos/gm-china-electric-car/index.html The Baojun E100 is even smaller than a Smart ForTwo.
You silly muffin, those are in CNY, you have to divide it by 7 to get the US dollar equivalent. I will do the math for you: Average Chinese HOURLY wage in manufacturing=60000/7/2000= $4.3 So yes, 8 times more than I stated but STILL 15 times LESS than an average US automaker's wage...And I have a feeling those poor bastards have to work more than 40 hours per week, further eroding the hourly wage... Thus my conclusion still stands...
Honda/Toyota assembly workers in North America make about $20. Plus benefits. https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081212051710AAUyg60 Bloomberg says $16 https://www.bloomberg.com/view/arti...utoworkers-get-paid-the-same-as-everyone-else
Seriously people, you want to tell me that Chinese salaries are on pair with American union jobs? http://www.factcheck.org/2008/12/auto-worker-salaries/ "Q: Do auto workers really make more than $70 per hour? A: No. That figure is derived from what the auto companies pay in wages, health, retirement and other benefits, and includes the cost of providing benefits to retirees. FULL QUESTION How much does a UAW member make at a domestic auto plant? Various sites have cited the figure at an average of seventy-three dollars an hour (The Heritage Foundation). Keith Olbermann says that the figure is actually at twenty-eight before benefits, which only add ten dollars to the amount. Other sources indicate that Toyota workers (who are not unionized) made more last year after profit sharing was calculated. So clear it up for us. What’s the real bottom line? FULL ANSWER A report from the conservative Heritage Foundation, opposing the auto industry bailout, said that members of the United Auto Workers union "earn $75 an hour in wages and benefits – almost triple the earnings of the average private sector worker." Later in the report, it’s phrased this way: "The vast majority of UAW workers in Detroit today still earn $75 an hour."" "The automakers say that the average wage earned by its unionized workers is about $29 per hour.So how does that climb to more than $70? Add in benefits: life insurance, health care, pension and so on." Granted this was 2008... But the problem from the automaker's POV is that the company has to pay a bunch of related cost, in the USA, not in China. So with benefits and shit the cost can be 60-70 bucks per hour. What are the benefits for a Chinese worker? Dying early?
Yes, who cares about 8 times difference right ? You're off around 2.5 times on US wages as well btw https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/wages-in-manufacturing https://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iagauto.htm Silly me !