River Davis, Ryan Felton, and Selina Cheng of The Wall Street Journal explain that a mix of engineering, government subsidies, and lower labor costs helps BYD and other China-based EV makers lure customers with attractive prices, stylish designs, and technology. They write:
Chinese automaker BYD has set its sights on Mexico as its quest for global expansion turns toward North America.
The Shenzhen-based car company, whose rapid growth has made it one of the world’s largest electric-vehicle sellers, is scouting locations in the country for a factory, from which it would consider exporting cars to the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter.
The plans show rising enthusiasm within China’s car industry for expansion to North America, despite the political risks. Building cars in Mexico for the U.S. would allow the automakers to avoid hefty import tariffs that would be applied if they were to send them directly from China. […]
“We don’t have a specific policy prescription, but we think it’s important that industry leaders and policymakers are thinking about the potential implications,” he said.
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