Please recall in one of my many posts on China I said something like 'no one can know what it is like to be hit by a train'. Because once you get hit by a train you will most likely not live to talk about it. I was referring to China's unbelievable progress as a scientific, technological and industrial power (exactly in that order). China has overtaken the whole world in all three areas. And now large chunks of the world are finding out quite suddenly that their people are losing jobs and income, their factories are closing down, their products cannot sell in the world markets anymore because they DID NOT PAY ATTENTION to Chinese scientific, technological and industrial power (exactly in that order).
This is happening to the Japanese car industry, even as you are reading this. Here is a video you must watch (13 minutes do spare the time). Sales of Chinese EVs in Southeast Asia are simply shutting out the sales of Japanese cars like Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda etc.
Especially China's BYD (Build Your Dreams) car manufacturer which is now the world's largest producer of Electric Vehicles or EVs. They are on target to sell FOUR MILLION EVs this year! BYD began life as a manufacturer of batteries for EVs. Since the batteries are the alpha and the omega of the EVs, the company almost seamlessly moved into EV manufacturing.
Here is a screen grab showing Japanese car makers losing serious market share in South East Asia.
As you can see sales of Chinese cars (especially EVs) are shooting to the sky whereas sales of all other car makes (Japan, German, US, European) are crashing.
Ok here is that 13 minute video.
Just until a few months back the EVs were still rare on our roads. I would see one Tesla or one BYD somewhere. Now there are so many BYDs on the road. I dont see as many Teslas mainly because Tesla is more pricey and they have just FOUR showrooms in the Peninsula.
But sales of BYD is exploding in Malaysia. I
visited BYD's show room recently (at the IOI Mall in Putrajaya) and was
astounded by the technology, design, finishing and quality of their
EVs. The location of their showroom inside a busy shopping mall made it easy to view the cars. Plus their sales staff are full of information.
The girl said that for their larger model (which is bigger than a BMW 5 Series) the "electricity bill" is RM26 per full charge. For one month's normal driving around, you only need to charge up FOUR times, which means your 'EV electricity bill' is RM104 a month (charging at home). For the smallest model that they have (its the size of a MyVi or larger) the EV electricity bill is RM15 per charge or RM60 per month (FOUR CHARGES). When I fill up my gas tank it already costs me about RM120.00. If I drive everyday - I will fill up the tank at least three or four times a month. That is an RM480 petrol bill !! So it is no rocket science that the EVs are a much cheaper option.
The BYD's battery has a warranty of EIGHT YEARS. Some European hybrids could only guarantee their batteries for THREE YEARS. What this meant was that once the warranty period expired (after three years) the resale value of the car dropped like a stone.
With an EIGHT YEAR warranty on the battery, and considering a FIVE YEAR car-loan, it means that at the end of a FIVE YEAR car-loan tenure, the BYD will still have THREE MORE YEARS warranty left on the battery. This should preserve the resale value of the car. The electric motors also have an EIGHT YEAR warranty.
In Malaysia the sales of all other non EV cars are facing SEPPUKU. Ritual suicide.
The @$$e$ who run the country now have reduced import taxes and duties on EVs alone. Reduced taxes only for the EVs.
So an unbelievable BYD SEAL starts at RM163,000. The BYD MPV starts at RM109,000 whereas the compact Dolphin begins at RM100,000. To me the BYD SEAL looks better than a 5 Series. But it starts at an unbelievable RM163,000 !! That is why the BYD is selling like hotcakes. (Compare this to the 5 Series which sells for about RM332,000. L#%&*@u). And the monthly 'EV electricity bill' for the BYD is about RM104 !!
The @$$e$ who run the country have also decided that the lowest sales price for an EV in Malaysia cannot go below RM100,000. So in China the compact BYD sells for about RM65,000. Here the compact EVs sell for RM100,000 - RM120,000. Why? Because the gomen says so. L#%&*@u.
So the sales of the Honda Accords, Toyota Camrys, Nissans, Mazdas etc are taking a beating. If I were not so old fashioned that BYD SEAL at RM163,000 is a much better buy than a European car of the same size which costs twice as much or more. Hands down, no questions asked I will buy the BYD.
The @$$e$ who run the country should also reduce the taxes on all other imported vehicles. Not just the EVs. Then let them compete on a more level playing field.
Lets digress a little. There is no global warming. Global warming is a hoax, But the kampong fellows dont read critically. They dont read. Period. So when the Mat Sallehs say 'global warming' everyone starts singing :
- The sky is falling!
- The sky is falling!
- The global is warming!
- The Maldives are sinking!
Dey, here is a picture of the international airport in the Maldives. IT IS AT SEA LEVEL.
This airport was first built in 1960 at sea level !! That runway in the middle was built in 1966. That runway is at sea level. In 1966 notchet global warming mah. Then in 2022 the Maldives built a new runway - the one on the right right side in the picture. 2022 was AFTER The sky is falling! The global is warming! The Maldives are sinking! bullshit.
The new runway was also built at sea level. Look at the picture again. Dont pretend to be blind ok? So the Maldives Islands are not sinking. There is no global warming. (For those of you who are super dumb, global warming means the sea levels should be rising and the Maldive Islands should have sunk below the sea). Well it has not happened and it will not happen.
Ok back to the EV story. The video says that because they are losing so much market share to Chinese EVs, the Japanese car manufacturing plants in Thailand are beginning to close down.
- I believe this is going to happen in Malaysia as well.
- Japanese car assembly plants here are going to shut down.
- Because of the super @$$e$ who run the country.
- They really dont know what they are doing.
- You are killing the Japanese automobile investors.
- If the Japanese pull out their investments our kids will lose jobs.
Why should the Malaysian car buyer fork out RM220,000 for a Japanese sedan when the super duper Chinese BYD SEAL will only cost him RM163,000? And the BYD SEAL is a much better, luxurious and super duper car? Plus the interior is like some Star Wars electronic console. Everything is an LCD screen.
There are no Japanese, European or American car manufacturers who have any EV car designs in the market today that can come near China in quality and pricing. YILEK !! TAK ADA.
To conclude - this is what I meant when I said earlier that some countries and some societies are going to get hit by a Chinese freight train. Once they get hit, it is lights out. They are not going to recover.
Ok lah I dont want to bore you too much. Here is just one more 'getting hit by a Chinese freight train news'.
This is from the South China Morning Post here.
The Chinese have put into test flight a working scramjet engine that can be commercialised. I have been reading about ramjets and scramjets since I was in primary school 54 years ago. It means that for 54 years the Mat Sallehs have not been able to design a ramjet or scramjet that is commercially viable. Production model tak ada. But the Chinese have done it now. Please look at that picture. Isnt that a beautiful piece of machinery?
Something is missing. Can you see what is missing? There are no steel tubes, pipes and valves. There are no turbine blades. A ramjet has no moving parts.
The high speed of the plane rams the air into the narrow engine which compresses the air. No compressor needed, no turbine blades needed. Fuel is then sprayed into the compressed air which catches fire and 'explodes' and is expelled out through the rear creating thrust. The plane moves in the opposite direction. The million dollar question is how do you get the plane up to that required high speed before the ramjet can kick in? I think the Chinese have solved this problem - on a commercially viable basis. Meaning the flight ticket will still be affordable.)
Imagine if the Chinese can fly from Beijing to New York in two hours. What will happen to Boeing or Airbus or Pratt and Whitney or Rolls Royce or General Electric?
On behalf of all Malaysians may I please request that ALL IMPORT DUTIES AND IMPORT TAXES on Chinese ramjet engines be abolished. Thank you.
Do you see why they want to bomb China?
Wake up! Wake up! The Chinese freight train is coming.