Chinese EVs - would you buy a Chinese made or Chinese branded EV?

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › Chinese EVs - would you buy a Chinese made or Chinese branded EV?

turtleattacks

914 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#306829 25-Aug-2023 13:14

Given most EVs are either Chinese made (Tesla) , or Chinese branded (MG, Polestar, BYD).

Would you have any reservations in buying a Chinese made EV or Chinese branded EV?

I've heard that many Teslas are now actually branded in some areas of China due to (camera) security concerns.

It might be for security reasons or even purely to avoid supporting Chinese made goods.

----

Creator of whatsthesalary.com

1 | 2 | 3

478 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3120090 25-Aug-2023 13:18

My extended family have a MG ev and a Tesla model Y.

MG for a couple of years, model Y a bit more recent, those low interest green deals with the bank made pulling the trigger a lot easier.

jonathan18

7413 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

#3120096 25-Aug-2023 13:30

You (via the Chinese, of course) must have been spying on me, as at the very time you created this thread I was watching a video on this topic, having been forwarded it by my BiL. I found this video pretty OTT (to be expected for YT, and apparently for this YTer as well, going by a quick search) and would be interested in a more nuanced/balanced take on the same topic, plus some verification of all the claims made.

That said, I own a Chinese made car (a Model Y) and we've ordered my wife a Chinese made car (an MG4), so apparently have already sold out our privacy to CCP!

wellygary

8312 posts

Uber Geek

#3120097 25-Aug-2023 13:30

I've heard that many Teslas are now actually branded in some areas of China due to (camera) security concerns.

Its because the Chinese government are concerned the camera data is all being sent to a US company,

From memory it turned up the same time as the US govt bans on Huawei, Hikvision and ZTE were doing the headlines.

geocom

594 posts

Ultimate Geek

Subscriber

#3120115 25-Aug-2023 14:33

I was considering a MG however privacy concerns was a factor that I weighted up the key point being the connected services which as it is not air gapped access to the microphone in the cabin(just to be clear I'm not saying that they do this but that it is a possibility) and that its all done without any real way to tell what its doing due to the lack of any easy tools to sniff traffic and that SAIC is a state owned company.

So yes it was a factor however key reason why I didn't go with it was due to wanting a smaller form factor than what they had on offer however if I was looking again the privacy stuff would still be a thing I would be looking at and tesla would also be out of the running for the same reason.

Geoff E

tehgerbil

1102 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Subscriber

#3120141 25-Aug-2023 16:00

Regarding privacy concerns are Chinese vehicle companies (Great wall, Geely etc) probably providing your driving info/infotainment usage/mobile phone data to the CCCP? Almost certainly.

Are South Korean vehicles companies (Hyundai, KIA etc) probably providing your data to the South Korean government? Almost certainly.

Are American vehicles companies (Ford, Jeep etc) probably providing your data to the American government? Almost certainly.

ezbee

2405 posts

Uber Geek

#3120149 25-Aug-2023 16:30

Well there was the thing about Tesla employees watching greatest hits from cars cameras without owners knowing.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/apr/07/tesla-intimate-car-camera-images-shared

You are being mined by companies for data these days with overly connected stuff.
Of course the greater evil is the rental of functionality this allows, so want x already built into car to work pay y every month.

Though countries with separation of powers and an independent legal system with various levels of oversight are a different thing.

Those that jail or worse lawyers taking human rights cases and pointing out inconvenient laws.
Well that's a whole different level, its false equivalence to put them in the same category.

Unless you are someone important its not something to care about, joe and jill average are just noise in the system.

More a point is the distraction of overly 'touchscreened' interfaces.
Vs the simple ese of use, longevity and serviceability of switches.
Thats a matter of individual choice.

MikeB4

18435 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

#3120152 25-Aug-2023 16:39

There is no problem a solution is in the pantry

Equinox IT

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.

alasta

6703 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

#3120584 26-Aug-2023 14:00

I only buy cars from manufacturers with reasonable market share and a long history of selling in the NZ market, e.g. Hyundai, Mazda, Volkswagen, etc.

The consequences of a car purchase going wrong are just too great to take a gamble.

MikeB4

18435 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

#3120596 26-Aug-2023 15:23

alasta:
I only buy cars from manufacturers with reasonable market share and a long history of selling in the NZ market, e.g. Hyundai, Mazda, Volkswagen, etc.

The consequences of a car purchase going wrong are just too great to take a gamble.

GWM through their various brands are gaining market share rapidly. China will be to the vehicle industry what Japan was during the 80s. The other big player in the wings is India

Journeyman

1186 posts

Uber Geek

#3120604 26-Aug-2023 15:51

My initial inclination was that I wouldn't buy any Chinese car because I perceive that they have crap safety ratings. However, a brief look through the ANCAP website shows that they have 4 or 5 star ratings for the Chinese cars that have actually been tested.

That said, I can't help but feel better about buying from a well established automaker.

MikeB4

18435 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

#3120610 26-Aug-2023 15:55

I would buy a Chinese vehicle over a Euro box or US vehicle any day.

mattwnz

20141 posts

Uber Geek

#3120632 26-Aug-2023 17:07

What does the dog and lemon guide say about these chinese made EVs? Purchasing the D&L guide previously is why I purchased Toyotas and Mazdas and had no issues with long term reliability. My biggest issue are things failing after 5 years and out of warranty like electric windows, central locking, speedo, dash lights, which I found to be common with European cars we had purchased and they are very expensive to fix. If you watch the car wizard, you will see how some manufacturers don't make cars easy to repair and get to the parts.

mattwnz

20141 posts

Uber Geek

#3120633 26-Aug-2023 17:08

MikeB4: I would buy a Chinese vehicle over a Euro box or US vehicle any day.

European seem to have very high safety ratings, and was one of the reason I purchased a European.

MikeB4

18435 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

#3120637 26-Aug-2023 17:34

mattwnz:
MikeB4: I would buy a Chinese vehicle over a Euro box or US vehicle any day.

European seem to have very high safety ratings, and was one of the reason I purchased a European.

Euro boxes have good safety ratings but reliability is not good and cost of repair is horrible

jonathan18

7413 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

#3120644 26-Aug-2023 18:22

Journeyman:
My initial inclination was that I wouldn't buy any Chinese car because I perceive that they have crap safety ratings. However, a brief look through the ANCAP website shows that they have 4 or 5 star ratings for the Chinese cars that have actually been tested.

That said, I can't help but feel better about buying from a well established automaker.

My Chinese-made car had, when first tested, the highest safety rating of any car tested.

The Chinese-made car my wife’s just ordered - at $41k after rebate the cheapest EV one can buy in NZ at the moment - has a five star ANCAP rating. The current BMW i4 - starting at $99k - has a four star rating.

Yep, it’s time people did stop making generalisations that all Chinese made cars = unsafe (and poor quality).

1 | 2 | 3