Electric vehicle sales are booming in South America – without Tesla
reuters.com
reuters.com
It’s not hard to have smaller R&D teams work on these problems to keep the innovation going, but most executives are out there prioritizing cost cuttings so that the shareholders get the quarterly dopamine boosts on the earnings calls.
And this is what companies find it hard to do. To be fair, I think that is not so bad a things. Companies should rise and die naturally. A few companies monopolizing markets forever does not seem good.
I feel like being a publicly traded company prevents pivoting because of the focus on short term results.
But the film market collapsed in like 5-7 years.
if you don't know GM's history with electric cars: they were positioned to execute a successful transition about thirty years ago, but they simply chose not to.
I hope #2 won't be the future. It's not as easy to just jack up electric prices because EVs are charging, because they are regulated, and electricity is used for way more than cars (if my napkin math is right, on average people will use around 30% more electricity if they go full electric).
I expect that as a practical matter #3 is here now, it just hasn't filtered down to retail car sales in the US yet.
I've done 4 3000km road trips and intentionally took the EV leaving the ICE vehicle at home. It's a better car, and we need to stop to bathroom anyways, so charging isn't inconvenient. Saving a few hundred dollars in fuel is nice, too.
You probably wouldn't for a 450mi trip, so long as you're driving an EV that's even halfway decent for road trips.
2. unless you have an old or low mileage battery you won’t have to stop more than once
3. if you do stop twice (which you should) you should not need more than 15-20 minute stop
My back and butt beg me to stop every couple hundred miles anyway, so on a long road trip I plan for a lunch stop. Longer than 450 and I stop for the night or fly. But I don’t love road tripping no matter how big the has tank.
Another other example that I couldn't make work was multi day stay in Gardiner to visit Yellowstone National Park.
Third example where I struggled was a weekend trip to Lincoln City, OR. No usable chargers within the city or along the coast. The ones listed on maps have restrictions. The only way was to get a full charge at the last station on the way there and keep careful watch over the remaining range while there.
ICEs have access to a much denser network of gas stations, which eliminates range concerns. EVs aren't there yet and the additional trip preplanning imposed by that is real effort at times.
A Renault Twingo is going to cost something like 20,000 euros. That's twice the price of a Dacia Sandero, but a Dacia Spring is 16,900. The difference is only 4000, which could easily be a year's petrol.
And electricity is not free especially when using fast chargers. So at the end the savings is about 500-1000 euros per year. Which still is a good deal, but explains why people prefer to buy small gasoline cars. I think electric car premium must be below 2 thousand euros plus infrastructure must improve before gasoline car sales in Europe start to collapse.
When I had a petrol car it was like at least 12 L/100 km, probably more. I remember 100 km drives (Stockholm-Uppsala and back) costing hundreds of Swedish crowns in petrol.
What was it? That's approximately what my late-90s Range Rover does, although it's converted to run on LPG which is much cheaper and much much much cleaner.
These are not detached technologies- one completes the other.
BYD shows that electric cars are cheaper if designed properly from the ground up. The problem is that the US no longer makes many cars. Mostly giant trucks and SUVs. Hauling all that mass around requires a huge battery, resulting in 3-ton vehicles.
I agree with your comment, but I'll be a little pedantic for a minute:
As a Charger Daytona owner, I'd love to call the Mach-E a mustang, but it's really just borrowing the brand. Ford has said unequivocally that they'll never make an all-electric muscle car, which is a real shame. The Mach-E is a great car if you're turned off by a Model Y, but you wouldn't choose it over a mustang GT or a charger Daytona or a Camaro.
What’s the thinking here? Pandering to some market segment? It sounds like they are organising the deck chairs in the titanic.
Edit: I tried looking into the comment. It seems he was referring to Mustangs specifically, which is weird as they do make an electric one (assuming you agree it’s a ‘real’ mustang).
I’m confused.
The Mach-E kind of snuck in. I believe they intended to make more electric Mustang-branded cars, but things changed internally and priorities shifted. Lots of women really like Mustangs, and the Mach-E is positioned to appeal to many of the same people: it makes sense to use it as a kind of Trojan horse to ease folks into EVs with a brand they already like. But if you took a Mach-E and hid the name and asked folks "is this a Mustang?" The answer you'd get is "No".
Honestly, it's befuddling to me. There's a lot of folks who could get talked into an electric muscle car, they just have to know how to sell it. I own a Charger Daytona and literally every car guy I show it to has interest; I genuinely think Dodge just doesn't know how to market and sell it. I'm 100% confident that the right marketing agency could sell 100k of these, but the cohort of "it'll never be a Mustang" is far louder than the "wow that thing rips" crowd.
Cool. Then allow BYD non-trucks, non-SUVs into the U.S. then.
The Japanese back in the 70's showed U.S. automakers that price and mileage (in that decade anyway) were important to Americans. I suspect price is still important.
We have exceptionally productive fields in the US tumor are the envy of the world. If we can't be productive in auto manufacturing, devoting a ton of our workforce too it is a misallocation of our limited resources.
If we are going to be subsidizing unprofitable industry fro national security purposes, we need to either 1) ruthlessly cut the least productive manufacturers from access to subsidies, or 2) nationalize it. Any other choices would be very inefficient.
Think about this concept. It costs you $1 to make a widget. It costs your competitors $1.25 to make a similar widget. They sell theirs for $5. Do you sell yours for $1.50 or $4.75? Obviously, other things could be in play for the market for widgets, but if you could sell all your widgets for $4.75 wouldn't you do that?
If the cheapest car in the US is about $20k and is a complete POS, why would you sell your better car for $10k when you could still sell it for $22k and still sell just about all the ones you build?
They will also sell higher end configurations abroad to make it worth their time. They won’t sell the absolute bare bones option that comes with almost no profit (if not a loss).
I imagine that a Chinese automaker such as BYD would price itself low, something like an EV at ICE prices, to get a foothold in the American market. I really wish BYD was around here so I could drive one and look at the build quality myself, it's almost like the domestic Automakers and the CIA are putting out hit pieces about the brand.
I said the cheapest car not the cheapest EV. And of that I meant new car. That would be the Nissan Versa, which has an MSRP of $18,385. After TTL, depending on your market you're probably looking at something around $20k out the door.
Something else that is not being told in the mainstream media, is the U.S. bias and negative attitude towards South American countries has left the door wide open to China. And China is firmly establishing itself there, where it is unlikely that the U.S. can compete for at least a decade, if not a generation.
The Mustang Mach-e isn't like any other Mustang. It just has the Mustang branding.
Also, F150 lightening is such a failure. There was a recent video of it trying to haul very minimal load and it pretty much drained the battery in less than 100 miles.
Was that due to something specific with the Lightning, or was it just due to the intrinsic energy requirements of hauling loads? (Or in other words, does an EV even exist that's notably better at hauling loads?)
Multiple tests have shown this by showing 50% or more range reduction from pulling lightweight, non-aerodynamic loads.
The marketing failure is that the companies have allowed consumers to incorrectly extrapolate from this to thinking that heavy loads in the bed have the same issue. They actually don't as weight is a minimal impact on range.
Unfortunately, every thread about carrying sheetrock, rocks, mulch, etc shows how misinformed the average consumer has become in this space. It has to be a significant impact on sales, given that in the US these are the only heavy loads carried by >50% of the half ton pickups sold here.
Maybe I'm being stupid, but how could that possibly just be a problem for EVs? The aerodynamic physics don't care what's powering the car so the impact on range should be roughly the same.
Or is the problem that even if EV range impact is similar to fossil fuel range impact, the extra time required to recharge vs refuel makes that range impact more, uh, impactful for drivers?
The EVs lose enough range that they often need to be charged deep into the pack to make it to the next station, which leads to >40 minute charging sessions every 100-120 miles.
By comparison the the Chevy Silverado EV gets ~450mi of range unloaded and testing seems to have it able to tow ~250mi of range at 70mph, which seems plenty between stops: https://www.hotcars.com/chevrolet-silverado-ev-towing/
I believe the Chevy Volt worked this way - you can see used ones for sale for around $15k.
I think Dodge is planning a serial hybrid truck called RAM charger.
This is probably why most hybrid systems I'm aware of don't only use electric motors to power the drive wheels. The idea sounds cool and I've also wondered why you can't buy something like that in the US (I think it exists elsewhere), but the math doesn't really work out. Even in terms of engineering complexity, because the engine is only directly driving the wheels at certain speeds, you can get by without a lot of the mechanical drivetrain components like transmissions.
But an EV, on a long range road trip you're rarely charging to 100%, you're often going like 5%->80% because the charging speeds fall off a cliff after a certain percentage. So you start off with maybe 300mi, but not really because after the first leg you're only using 75% of it, but now you're also using like 25% more energy because of the massively increased drag. So what was 300mi on a full charge became maybe 150mi on a full charge once you're on that second leg. Coupled with the fact what used to be free energy (heating the cabin with waste engine heat) if you're towing in cold weather you're not even going to get that 150mi.
Perhaps in the US. Here in the UK you see a lot of Focuses and Fiestas, especially the ST models, and the "ST Line" models, which have ST trim but boring engines.
Quite often you see the latter on their side a surprisingly long way from the tarmac, surrounded by bits of obliterated cattle fence, with a very patient farmer rolling it back onto its wheels with the Manitou to make the recovery guy's day easier.
Certainly the latter, but I don't think it was ever going to be money-making, even in the Ford's best-case sales/production scenario it was really a gen1 platform (along with the Mach-E) to get their foot in the door with EV production, supply chains, sales, etc.
Then they got hit with various external events (low gas prices, higher electricity prices, EV credit cancellations, higher tariffs, etc.) that made their numbers even worse.
FWIW I'm also a fan of the Lightning - it's obviously not a drop-in replacement for 100% of things an F150 can do, and the pricing is tough, but just on its own merits it's a very nice truck. (I was recently car shopping, but had no need/inclination for a full-size truck, so ended up with a hybrid Maverick instead - very impressed with that too so far.)
Ford certainly didn't do themselves any favors, that's for sure. Even today, the street price is not commonly known -- I talk to people all the time who think it's a 70K+ truck even though it's been continuously available for 15-20K less for a year or more. I'm guilty of that myself, I was going to settle for a used hybrid powerboost F-150 for about 55K before someone casually mentioned that the Lightning could be had for just over 50K brand new (and not the base model!). Dodged a bullet on that one I think, the powerboost has an awful reputation for reliability.
> ended up with a hybrid Maverick instead
That's a very solid choice. When my kids move on with their own lives in a few years, I'll be very open to a smaller truck. Maybe not Maverick small, but it's still very appealing (and doubly so if Ford makes an electric version). I am hoping Ford has plans for an electric Ranger.
And a surge in road deaths.
What do you mean, the ID series for the main VW brand have 7 upcoming models over the next two years (4 for the Chinese market, 3 for everywhere).
> all established brands we know are left behind
I wouldn't go that far. The Renault 5 is one of the best selling EVs in Europe, and all the reviews are extremely positive (it's a fun and good looking car overall, and accessible). They have the 4 rolling out, and the small Twingo coming next year. They've also managed to narrow down the time from concept car to production at scale to less than 2 years (which according to the article on the topic I read is very fast).
How is VW aborting in any way? They do not have a new ICE Platform, they are totally all in on EVs. Whether that will work out is of course another question, but it is bizarre to bring up EV when there is also Stellantis, who do not even have a dedicated EV Platform for their cars.
I also never understood why established brands lobbied for EVs, and not against them. They clearly had no edge over Tesla and Chinese brands, why compete on rival's field?
I’d love a Corolla or Camri EV - I’m not sure what ‘the Corolla of EVs’ is considered to be.
https://www.best-selling-cars.com/electric/2025-half-year-eu...
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/volksw...
The losses seem to be due to a tariff hit in the U.S. and due to Porsche change in strategy to focus more on hybrids and ICEs (0possibky because they’re focusing on EVs through VW?).
When I was in Brazil this spring[*] I rode a lot of Uber and they were 100% BYD - 100%, no exception. It's not that my head hadn't known that German auto was dead but seeing it playing out like this hit hard.
[*] northern hemisphere
Still, I think BYD are kind of killing it.
Those who commute from the suburbs actually save even more as hybrids achieve their lowest consumption going a steady 50-70km/h.
Of course the same people could just get an EV and charge at home, but in terms of cost-effectiveness hybrids still win in this use case.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/11/22/cop-brazil...
https://www.byd.com/us/news-list/First-BYD-Electric-Vehicle-...
These days they're both priced like they're selling Ferraris anyway so yeah. The ID Buzz starting at 70k EUR is such a joke.
You can't just leave your car charging unattended in a public space. It has to be done at home or somewhere closed (which would make it expensive) or you would have to watch over your car (which would take a lot of your time).
Lots where people park overnight are gated.
I think there is a lot of innovation in the German electric vehicle industry. I am quite excited for BTM, my bikes manufacturer, to design and release new versions of their platform. This model is distinctly German.
Meanwhile the Chinese are eating their lunch.
Europe and Japan should be totally capable of producing super inexpensive batteries. They just don't, at the moment.
Like ive seen people junkyard perfectly working and good cars because it is over 150,000 miles and some service guy who is looking for work/money told them they need to do scheduled maintenance some time soon and they thought the car was too old and was junk. And yet very few cars ive seen would not make it over 300,000 miles if they spent even 1/10th the money of their new car for maintenance on their old.
- Inaccessible Components (Poor Physical Layout): One of the main ones you're talking about. Take out the engine to repair a light on the dashboard.
- Integrated, Non-Modular Systems: Minor damage or failure ruins an entire assembly. You dinged the bumper, replace the entire front.
- Lack of Standardization: Even from year-to-year, designs change and mechanics have to learn yet another system.
- Forced Replacement over Repair: Object is "black box", thou shalt replace, not repair.
- Dead/Onion/Boat Anchor Components: No longer used, maybe need it, build stuff on top of it, layer after layer, "can we even remove it"?
- Spaghetti Wiring/Code and System Coupling: Single modules that route all over the car, another "can we even remove it"?
- Proprietary Diagnostics and Restricted Data Access: Don't have the special tools, you can't repair, or even find out what's wrong.I know of two ex-taxis that were scrapped at about five or six years old - one was taken off the road because of a deep paint scratch down to bare metal from about half way along the front wing to the rear door, rendering it beyond economic repair - with over half a million miles on the clock each.
Neither had been outside the Greater Glasgow area since they were dropped off on the transporter.
1. Batteries - BYD has them beat 2. Self Driving tech - other players are better 3. Luxury brands already provide the luxury aspect & even better built cars 4. in the US they're being saved by US protectionism. in Europe etc - we already see the chinese brands making inroads for EV sales
I don’t think anyone has better self driving for consumers out atm, but you could argue that’s because other companies are not using their customers as beta testers. I’ve seen demos that may indicate Mobileye has tech that’s just as good if not better. But they don’t release it to end users until it’s fully ready.
I don’t think Tesla has any special sauce, and that when the tech is actually ready for unattended full self driving in a consumer car, other car makers will come out with solutions around the same Tesla. One difference is maaaybe Tesla will be able to update old cars (probably with a hardware update). While I think others will only support it on new cars.
The argument for years has been something like:
> Tesla will solve self-driving and everyone will be left unable to compete. Also, AI is advancing rapidly and will solve all kinds of problems for society.
But apparently it will not solve self-driving for anyone else but Tesla.
I gave up trying to argue with Tesla fans years ago. They are immune to logic which invalidates their priors.
Internationally, yes if you manufacture the international product in the home country, but AFAIK in auto at least there are usually satellite factories and have been for some time, and those wouldn’t be subject to home country tariffs would they?
That's what Porsche also discovered, the hard way.
And that's one thing about EVs here in general - they are coming with no spare tire but a flat tire repair kit, which it's fine for small issues but may not be enough for the problems said tough roads can give to your tires.
How could that be?
At least Renault's low cost models (like the Dacia Spring, sold as Kwid in Latin America) are sold for cheap in various markets, and are competitive to BYD pricing in the EU and Latin America (enough that they're seeing serious growth there). Tesla doesn't have anything close, price wise, so how could they be competing on price with BYD?
That seems to be the standard for all new cars, both ICE and EV; sometimes a spare is available as a paid option.
Which seems insane. But it is what it is.
Recently saw a Tesla setup in the mall - so it does seem like they are kicking off a marketing campaign.
https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3334300...
https://insidechinaauto.com/2025/11/01/live-blog-china-octob...
https://www.byd.com/us/news-list/First-BYD-Electric-Vehicle-...
https://rhomotion.com/news/byd-announces-further-global-expa...
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-where-tesla-and-byd-...
I have an electric cargo bike. During a kids party yesterday I ran 5 different errands with it while someone with a car managed to get stuck in traffic, not find a parking spot, and miss the whole thing.
The only reason why cars are the size and shape they are is because ICE engines couldn't be made smaller. Electric engines on the other hand are small enough that I can have the chassis of a fully functioning car be light enough to lift by one man.
I think we will see small, light weight and intrinsically pedestrian safe cars made of tubes and canvas replace the heavy monstrosities we have now.
Nope, the Smart existed for quite a while. Safety standards made cars slightly bigger (e.g. the new Renault Twingo is bigger than the original), but modern American "cars" are massive because that's what marketing has convinced Americans it's what they need. American vehicle manufacturers are pretty terrible at everything, and efficiency standards nudge them that way anyways, so making massive cars with high margins is a good deal for them.
In Europe there are SUVs, but the average car is a VW Golf or a Renault Clio sized. They are pretty decently sized, good visibility, can fit a family of 4, etc. Yeah, you can't haul a 50 ton campervan offroading up to Kilimanjaro, sure, but that's not what 99% of car trips are for.
> I think we will see small, light weight and intrinsically pedestrian safe cars made of tubes and canvas replace the heavy monstrosities we have now.
Renault Twizy ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_Twizy ) exists, but doesn't sell all that well (compared to "normal" cars).
The Citroen Ami ( https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citro%C3%ABn_Ami_(2020) ) is pretty popular in certain places (saw a ton of them in Amsterdam and semi-rural areas in France).
Is there some kind of objective analysis which supports this claim? It seems more likely that people vote with their wallet, and bigger wins out a lot of the time. It's hardly an American manufacturer thing, either, Japanese cars have reliably gotten bigger year after year as well.
It's a bit hard to have objective research on marketing and public perceptions. But how else do you explain all the marketing in that regard, and the fact that Americans, on average, even urbanites, keep buying massive pickup trucks, the majority of which are never used for anything more than a commuter vehicle for 1, maybe 2 occupants? Even in rich countries with very outdoorsy people (Switzerland, Nordics, hell, the Netherlands has camping as a national sport, and during summertime they do mass migrations in towed campers and campervans towards the south of France, Italy, Spain), very few people buy trucks.
Marketing, an arms race, manufacturers not offering much else because their marketing works, Americans being very aspirational about what they'll do with their vehicles, idk.
> It's hardly an American manufacturer thing, either, Japanese cars have reliably gotten bigger year after year as well.
Japanese vehicles in the US or everywhere? Cars in general have been getting bigger because of safety features, but American monstrosities with lower visibility than literal tanks are an almost uniquely American phenomenon (slowly invading the rest of the world too).
Because most buys SUVs instead.
>massive pickup trucks, the majority of which are never used for anything more than a commuter vehicle for 1, maybe 2 occupants? Marketing, an arms race, manufacturers not offering much else because their marketing works, Americans being very aspirational about what they'll do with their vehicles, idk.
Not sure why you have this judgmental and holier than though "Europeans better, Americans stupid for buying trucks" stance throughout this conversation. It's not like Europeans are immune to marketing car oversizing with their affinity for SUVs which is why Volvo only makes SUVs for the past 8+ years now.
What you may be missing is that the vast, vast majority of Americans do not live in an urban core where owning a full size pickup is a chore. If you have the space, then a modern half-ton crew cab pickup basically checks all the boxes. The interior is enormous, comfy for passengers, it can haul nasty dirty things in the bed, tow, etc. And my Lightning has a huge frunk for even more capacity. As a family vehicle it's pretty dang useful. We own a sedan, too (a Model 3) and it's fine, but far less space and not nearly as comfy.
> Japanese vehicles in the US or everywhere?
Might be just the US, but that just confirms the market is driven by consumers and not by American auto manufacturers pushing some sort of narrative. A modern Honda Civic, for example, did not become the size of an old Accord because of safety features. It's because people keep preferring something incrementally larger. There are still much smaller cars in the US that are quite safe, they just aren't as popular.
That hasn't been the case here in a long time. SUVs and crossovers are outselling all other categories.
Most cars on this list, and the ones I see while living in one big European city, and regularly visiting lots of others, are not SUVs. There are plenty of them, but even then it's on the smaller side (e.g. a Renault Captur, not a Escalade 8 wheeled 65ton)
https://bestsellingcarsblog.com/2025/11/europe-october-2025-...
Austria, central Europe.
>the ones I see while living in one big European city
Except that statistics don't give a damn about what you see in your city. In 2024 54% of vehicles sold in EU are SUVs.[1] And indications point to 2025 being 57% in some months.
Which matches what I see where I live with a lot of Tesla Model Ys and BYD SUVs. Plus, Volvo only makes SUVs, which should tell you why SUVs are becoming majority.
Also matches the purchases I see amongst my acquaintances where their wives push for bigger cars for perceived safety of their family so they all got SUVs.
>it's on the smaller side (e.g. a Renault Captur, not a Escalade 8 wheeled 65ton)
Now you're moving the goalposts to what a SUV is. A Renault Captur is still classified as a SUV, which is what I was talking about. Don't try to spin this around just because European SUVs are smaller than US ones.
[1] https://www.jato.com/resources/media-and-press-releases/euro...
You countered that SUVs and crossovers are outselling other categories, but subcompact crossover SUVs like the Captur, Yaris Cross, 2008/3008, etc are, in fact, Clio/Golf sized.
So whatever statistics you're considering, if you're going just based on "type contains SUV" without considering size, then you're missing the actual important part.
If you're going based on your link's content, it also says:
"Compact SUVs (C-SUVs) were the most popular type within the category, accounting for 42% of total SUV registrations last year, followed by smaller models (B-SUVs), with 36% market share."
So that means that about a third (64% of the 54% number you're quoting) of vehicles sold are SUVs larger than the Clio/Golf size they mentioned.
And since this whole sub thread started based on a comment about vehicle sizes, it's not "moving the goalposts" to talk about the actual size of the vehicles being sold.
Of course, one could argue "it's SUV sized if it has SUV in the class name (regardless of compact or subcompact)" but I think that would be willfully sidestepping the point.
It can be classified as a fighter jet, it's still a moderately sized vehicle and it's barely bigger than the Renault Clio it's based on. It's a compact SUV. Almost none of the negative points of Americans style massive SUVs or trucks apply to it - it has good visibility, doesn't have a flat front to mow down pedestrians, doesn't weigh double what it should, doesn't consume absurd amounts of fuel.
So my original points, that the average cars in Europe are drastically smaller than their American counterparts, even when they're SUVs, still stands and is even confirmed by your source.
And the fact that Volvo decided to only do SUVs, while having a sister brand for EVs (Polestar), is pretty irrelevant.
But surely the problem with the final paragraph is the transition? Assuming the old style of vehicle remains on the road, then my lightweight one is at risk of being crushed. Only a niche minority would choose that (as a cargo bike owner, I'm also one, but I recognise most are not, with good reason.)
Unless we built a whole separate infrastructure.... We already see a lot of electric scooters using cycle lanes.
The problem isn't the form factor you're describing, it's that you can't put those on the road with 1000+ horsepower machines that are 50 times heavier. And on top of that, a lot of people just don't want to give up their heated massage seats and connected infotainment and removable third row or whatever crap they pack in minivans these days.
American pick up trucks with their butch looking front ends that kill a lot of children are a stupid idea under any circumstances. But evidently we have to live with that death and destruction until they rust out. Kids are already dying because of the stupidity and we have not got what it takes to stop it. It means other places will benefit from better mobility sooner.
I don't disagree with you: it would be great if we could replace more cars with bikes, but the reality is that there's almost nothing serious we can do in the US to undo the omnipresence of massive vehicles in most cities.
Tiny cars can't do longer distances (aka higher speeds) safely, physics of car collisions won't let you. They have been around for quite some time and popularity is as it is. If you are hit by 50kmh car as a cyclist (seems like frustration/fear of yours thats behind your words), whether car weights 600kg or 1300kg doesn't make much difference to your resulting state. Personal cars have specced brakes according to their weight so breaking distance is cca same regardless of weight.
Where I live (also went through kids birthday party today back & forth few times) - somebody with ebike would freeze their ass in windchill of fast moving bicycle would be below -10C (situation 5 months of a year), slip on partially frozen road could be fatal, moving around on rather narrow roads that have very little room for anybody but cars (Switzerland here but no high altitude) would be literal playing russian roulette with rest of traffic, triple that with wide cargo ebike. Alas, all parents came to the party in forest hut just above our village in their ICE or hybrid cars.
You have seen a motorbikes/mopeds, scooters and micro-cars surely?
An electric bike is essentially a moped which have existed for like 70-80 years now? A small cars have been around since the 1950s.
Cars are the shape they are because normally you want the option of carrying 1-5 people. 5 people is 2 adults and 3 children. BTW cars in the past were much smaller. Compare the size of any car from the 1930-40s in the UK to a modern European car and you will notice it is much smaller they are.
Nowadays there are electric micro cars too, like Citroën Ami. I believe Renault has sth too, and the Chinese brands too. They are cheap, often cheaper than an electric cargo bike!
Is it? Microcars are real, with ICE as well.
Kei cars from Japan is another example.
Small cars like mini cooper and Smart are also out there for decades.
Typical EV is a large car/SUV, because that is what people would like to buy.
Unless the US intends to sanction every country that prioritizes value over US geopolitics, this battle is already lost.
In fact, China has pretty good relations with most South American countries. Likely better than the US. I wouldn't be surprised if many people view China more favorably.
It would be easier to drop the US instead.
So yeah, to see EVs in South America without Tesla is actually newsworthy.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/byd-blows-past-rivals-tesla-1...
In addition they know that the US is a captive market as the government will not allow Chinese companies to sell their cars here due to data and security concerns.
So it does not make sense to chase tiny profits.
Musk has been shaking around his political penis at just the same moment as the Chinese manufacturers came of age and are on course, now, to supplant Tesla completely.
And the Tesla shareholders / BoD waived through $1t pay package as a reward.
Dysfunctional Leadership writ large.
I'm in the UK and the only new Fords I see are these huge F250/F350 which make my 4x4 (which is relatively small compared to a modern 4x4) look tiny.
They (Jaecoo) opened a dealership 20 minutes from where I am.
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/volksw...
I'd struggle to see how you got the idea that they were struggling from a sales PoV from that article; it says the opposite. This website has a serious reading comprehension problem.
https://www.best-selling-cars.com/electric/2025-half-year-eu...
There is far more to the logistics and adoption of this outside of "Tesla failed to capture the region" as the article's title eludes to.
Bribery, government corruption, risky loans, undercutting. It is well documented in the case of large infrastructure projects and the same playbook will be revealed in time.
China is winning because they don't have to work around pesky labor or IP laws. Then we have people pointing to how much better they are at business and also want all these protections.
https://carnewschina.com/2025/09/24/new-safety-requirements-...
[1] https://www.oliverwyman.com/our-expertise/insights/2025/apr/...