A few months ago I was looking for an EV. Went to the local Citroen/Peugeot dealership (I live in France), asked what they had. They told me I could have the new e-C3, the basic model, with 300KM range, for ~35000€. I asked how long it would take to have the car once I ordered it. They told me six months.

A few weeks later I went to the local MG dealership. They told me I could have an MG4, the high-end model (heated seats, automatic AC, fast charging), with 420KM range, for ~35000€. I asked how long it would take to have the car once ordered. They told me I could have it the next day, I would just need to choose a color that's in stock.

I bought the MG.

Basically, the European manufacturers sell cars made to order. You tell them the exact model you want, the color you want, and they put it on their roster, to come out of the factory months later.

The Chinese bring over thousands of cars to Europe, and they just sell whatever is in stock. When they have too much stock, they reduce the price. They don't even really care about those pesky European import tariffs.

Those Chinese cars are better equipped, have longer range, and cost less than the European ones. Meanwhile, the Europeans are busy selling their old petrol-burning models to south America in exchange for cheap south-American meat [1]. No wonder they're losing the EV war.

[1] https://apnews.com/article/uruguay-mercosur-european-union-t...