The EV thread

Those are the KIA Stinger GT wheels!!!

I guess they had to do something with them after the Stinger was sadly discontinued :frowning:

1 Like

And now, frivolity fest! Souped-up versions of reasonable road cars :slight_smile:

From the consumer side, this is the dumbest bragging. 4-door saloons/berlin/sedan have a purpose: be comfy. Maybe quick, but comfy should be the focus.

From the manufacturer side, these are the cars that make dream the people that buys the base models at half or even a third of the price of the ones in the 1/4 mile track. I guess the only time I’ve experience 1.5 Gs of acceleration is while falling from the bike and hitting the ground or a tree. Not sure how is this related to comfort.

Racing starts at 4h38. Please spare a laugh for the bros with poor muscle coordination. Those high-load low reps training are the worst for any car related activity where reaction times matter :face_with_hand_over_mouth: .

If the Lucid pulling away from the Tesla Plaid is impressive…the braking after the finish line is even more impressive. High acceleration should be matched by high braking capacity but this is not a limit for move fast and break things Tesla.

1 Like

Not sure whether you’ve seen any of Mark Watson’s videos but if you fancy watching similar cars but without the background music and American superlatives then you should have a look.

Here’s a Kia EV racing a Lamborghini Aventador SVJ:

1 Like

That’s a quick KIA :stuck_out_tongue: EVs are great for accelerating. Turning and breaking are still under development.

PS. The British editing is superlative, somehow the drag races last around 25-30 secs each one. At least the bros show the final run in a single shot.

How much of that transfers to real life?
The asphalt looks blacker than the night, as if tarred for improved traction.

Of course, it’s a prepped surface for drag racing on a beautiful sunny day, with no wind. Did not see a wind sock on the video, but maybe they have a cheap anemometer somewhere. It’s not nice to be doing 150 mph (240 kmh) and deal with strong winds.

Normal asphalt would be at least 10% slower. And forget about it below 15°C or even light rain.

I missed the news that Emil Frey AG has partnered with BYD to import EVs into Switzerland.

Some people is already making questions about it. Interesting words put together: due diligence on the supply chain.

Conquering the Swiss market of electric vehicles means having a well-known car importer in Switzerland. Unsurprisingly, Emil Frey, the largest car importer in the country by sales volume, decided this year to become the importer of BYD cars, according to Swiss media reports. This opportunity might prove a double-edged sword: what could be good for the sale figures of Emil Frey, might become an ethical problem.

Worldwide, companies are being asked more and more to conduct proper due diligence in their supply chain. In Switzerland, non-profit organizations are preparing a new initiative for a binding due diligence. Emil Frey might soon face the question of whether BYD can withstand a proper due diligence. Emil Frey is well advised to check this carefully before they risk partnering with BYD and to ensure that the dreams don’t become nightmares for Indigenous Peoples and local populations.

1 Like

VW are not going to happy as Emil Frey import their iD range…

The article suggests the Swiss shouldn’t buy Chinese cars because of where the lithium comes from for the batteries - China - specifically the Tibetan plateau.

Guess what, at the end of 2021, Tesla signed a three-year lithium supply agreement with Ganfeng Lithium, a leading lithium producer based in China.

I don’t see anything in the article saying that people should be wary of buying Tesla.

I’m pretty sure that the children picking cocoa beans used in Lindt chocolate are more likely to come from a more tribal background than from a child in Switzerland.

These eco-warriors need to try harder if they want to be taken seriously.

4 Likes

It could be interesting, but maybe not if they add a massive Swiss premium to it which ends up negating the BYD price/performance advantage.

FWIW, Ganfeng produce Lithium in a wide range of countries. As far as I can see they don’t own/operate any mining in Tibet (although they could well buy product from there - simply not clear). However they do operate several extraction facilities (based around a salt lake hence not technically mining) in Qinghai provence in NW China, an area associated with repression of minorities and forced labour (although again no idea if this affects Ganfeng)

1 Like

Indeed. Not so much thinking and even less honest thinking behind the opinion piece.

Anyway, this is a battle of perceptions. Would people care or not?

Judging by the popularity of more up market brands here, Emil Frey may have a job convincing people to go for these.
People also tend to have brand loyalty so may not want to switch from their German prestige cars.

Having said that, people have bought Teslas which didn’t have that brand cachet.

Tesla had the first mover advantage up until not that long ago, now they’re closer to being just another wolf of the pack. It still doesn’t do much advertising so it still stands out.

BYD has yet to demonstrate product quality and reliability. Given the CCCP’s prerogative and the ongoing trade war with the US I’ll treat them like the Chinese stockmarket and avoid them.

There’s a bit of a misconception at play here. We don’t want to switch from the German “prestige” car (where’s the prestige when everyone else can have it, btw) because we tend to have a loyalty for most brands in general (be it food, clothes, you name it), but if something more attractive and fairly priced shows up, why not.

What trade war?
U.S. goods imports from China are around $50 billion per month.

If you want to avoid Chinese goods there is not much left to buy,

Chinese firms make up almost 40 % of Tesla’s global EV battery supply

In a 2022 J.D. Power survey, BYD topped brands like BMW, Tesla, and Volkswagen in dependability

1 Like

I’ve changed my mind and I’m fed up of comments from people ridiculing EVs. They don’t know what they’re talking about.
Personally, I drive two top of the range EVs, a Jaguar and a Porsche.
Their acceleration and handling is fantastic. They look brilliant and they’re really cheap to run. They need hardly any maintenance and haven’t depreciated since I bought them.
Literally the only criticism I could make of them is sometimes, if I really push them into a corner, they can fly off the track and get stuck under the sofa…

9 Likes

Haha depreciation is hitting the Taycan hard. Something unusual for a Porsche :stuck_out_tongue:

Admin work day, dull and boring. I was listening to the video in the background.

Hey, a video of the Beijing Auto Show 2024. First car it’s the car with the KIA Stinger V6 wheels and a strikingly similar bright orange: the Xiami SU 7.

Wait a min…800 km range? That’s 30-50% more than 500-600km range of all other EVs. Even if the real range is only 600 km, that makes possible to drive 7-8 hours from home without recharging. Over the next 5 years, it wouldn’t be that crazy to go full idiot with V-10 or a V-12 for sunny days, and get one of these 800 km EVs for those days of rain, snow and paying attention to speed limits.

I’m starting to listen to the video, let’s see if something else comes up and makes it worth to watch :slight_smile:

If you can’t beat them, join’em :laughing:

I guess this will compete with Citroen C1, Daihatsu, VW up and similar around here. Anyway, the owners of these cars don’t drive 400 km non-stop.

AMSTERDAM, HONG KONG (14.05.2024)– Stellantis N.V. and Leapmotor today announced that the two companies have received all required authorizations and the formation of Leapmotor International B.V., a 51/49 Stellantis-led joint venture, is now complete. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the management team led by CEO Tianshu Xin, a former Stellantis China executive, are now laying the groundwork for a successful introduction of the T03 and C10 first in the European markets and expanding to India & Asia Pacific (excluding Greater China), Middle East & Africa, and South America starting in the fourth quarter 2024.