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Comment by thdrdt | Hacker News Reader

Tesla is not destroying any company. I don't know why you think they do.

In the USA the market share of light trucks was 73% in Q3 2019. Those are 100% not Tesla's.

Tesla's revenue is ~23% of BMW group's revenue. Impressive for sure but they are not destroying anyone.

It is also estimated that if Ford and VW bring an EV on the market they will easily sell 100k units with their first model.

The world market is bigger and different than you think. The German brands are loved in China. And markets like Brazil are upcoming.

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American 'trucks' are terrible. The USA has a huge import duty on light trucks, really good ones are kept out. Import duties, cheap gas, and CAFE rules on station wagons skew the market in the USA in favor of light SUVs

> [...] and CAFE rules on station wagons skew the market in the USA in favor of light SUVs

I never really thought about that. I rarely see station-wagons anymore these days. Great point.

Pray tell, what "really good ones" are being kept out? I've driven Toyota, Nissan and Honda trucks; Ford,GM and Dodge are competitive with all of them.

Kei trucks are being kept out. Only ones that are older than 25 years are let in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kei_truck

In fact, while Ford, for instance, is gutting their sedan offerings, they are making money hand over fist in SUVs and light trucks.

Sorta. They stopped production of the Fiesta, Focus, and Taurus in North America as they were not turning a good profit. They'll continue to produce the Focus and Fiesta for the European market where they far more popular.

That said Ford's also focused quite a bit on hybridization of their more profitable models. The Explorer and Escape are now offered in mild hybrid options, with a FWD PHEV in the Escape coming Q2 to Q3. They've confirmed that the F150 will be receiving both hybrid and EV drive trains as well. IIRC the Mustang lineup will be receiving hybridization as well.

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