Why Chinese electric cars are causing a buzz in Thailand

[Denim]

8 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Horrible looking thing. Looks like it has been designed by a blind man.

Or a VW Beetle had sex with a Porsche and this was the result.

[stupidfarang]

1 hour ago, arithai12 said:

I respect your position on Taiwan, and we could add the Uighur and Hong Kong. However, the world economy is so globalized and complex nowadays that it's basically impossible to avoid completely the products from one specific country. I believe that you are using at this very moment much more than a chopstick from China. And frankly, if I had to follow politics over economics, there are a few other big countries I would have to avoid.

Very well said. I do respect Australia for their stand against China though it has cost Australia but I feel more countrys need to stand up to the Bully, also I think everyone would be in a better position if they officially recognise Taiwan as being an independant country but now so many have given in to China thinking it would make things easier for them but now they are finding it is not the case. Do not get me wrong, I do know the USA is a bully as well and has a very bad track record, yet there is more freedom

 

[muratremix]

2 hours ago, LawrenceN said:

Starting at 989,000.

Almost 2x compared to China price. Considering 0 customs tax and only 7% VAT, that's a nice profit!

[vandeventer]

31 minutes ago, TooBigToFit said:

People put China down but it will just get better in terms of the quality of its products. Japan was put down in the 70s and it just rose and rose in quality.  Of course, the Chinese scumbag government is another story.

 

 

All very nice, and what were the charging times? Also will the new Chinese Electric Tanks have the two tone look and the pull out coat hanger?

[thaibeachlovers]

2 hours ago, tonray said:

They opened up a showroom in Central Westgate Mall about two months ago....the Ora GoodCat in Powder Blue does look stunning....know nothing about price or reliability.

Given the Chinese reputation for manufactured products, what sensible person is going to  buy one given the price? I've traveled on the new Chinese sleeper trains in Thailand, which was enough to put me off buying any big ticket item from China.

NZ railways have had problems with Chinese locos, so not just my opinion.

 

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/418739/kiwirail-defends-troublesome-diesel-locomotives-and-wants-to-buy-more

KiwiRail says it has no choice but to buy more Chinese made diesel locomotives - even though they've been troublesome and unreliable for more than a decade.

 

[thaibeachlovers]

3 minutes ago, vandeventer said:

All very nice, and what were the charging times? Also will the new Chinese Electric Tanks have the two tone look and the pull out coat hanger?

That's true about Japan, as I remember well, but when it finally made quality it was as good as anywhere in the world.

IMO China has not progressed to that point ( ? yet ).

[JoePai]

34 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Horrible looking thing. Looks like it has been designed by a blind man.

Yea, a chap from Porsche  ????

[sezze]

6 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Given the Chinese reputation for manufactured products, what sensible person is going to  buy one given the price? I've traveled on the new Chinese sleeper trains in Thailand, which was enough to put me off buying any big ticket item from China.

NZ railways have had problems with Chinese locos, so not just my opinion.

 

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/418739/kiwirail-defends-troublesome-diesel-locomotives-and-wants-to-buy-more

KiwiRail says it has no choice but to buy more Chinese made diesel locomotives - even though they've been troublesome and unreliable for more than a decade.

 

 

3 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

That's true about Japan, as I remember well, but when it finally made quality it was as good as anywhere in the world.

IMO China has not progressed to that point ( ? yet ).

Are you aware that China makes a lot of products ? Claiming China makes bad quality is just not true , since China makes everything . They make the cheapest things which break down in a day upto high end material which does last longer then you . If it is very cheap and it breaks down , you claim , prob correct oh it is Chinese . While the good quality thing next to it , which you paid a lot more for , is prob Chinese made also . You do get what you pay for , you can't make a good smartphone for 1500 baht , while the Iphone of 40000 baht is made in China also ( i am no Apple lover , but they do make good phones ) . In cars , Tesla 3 is produced in China , Polestar is Chinese . In just about every piece of equipment , China makes all of them , some being lowest of the low , others being highest of the high , and everything in the middle . 

[Eric Loh]

Chinese EV are creating a buzz not only in Thaland but the world. Top 5 EV manufacturers have 2 Chinese manufacturers - SAIC Motor and BYD. Like the Japanese cars which were frowned upon in the 60s and then proceeded to dominate the world, the Chinese EV will most likely to be full throttle in the future.

 

https://auto.hindustantimes.com/auto/news/tesla-to-hyundai-world-s-top-five-electric-car-makers-this-year-41635926246273.html

Edited November 29, 2021 by Eric Loh
wrong word

[thaibeachlovers]

Just now, sezze said:

 

Are you aware that China makes a lot of products ? Claiming China makes bad quality is just not true , since China makes everything . They make the cheapest things which break down in a day upto high end material which does last longer then you . If it is very cheap and it breaks down , you claim , prob correct oh it is Chinese . While the good quality thing next to it , which you paid a lot more for , is prob Chinese made also . You do get what you pay for , you can't make a good smartphone for 1500 baht , while the Iphone of 40000 baht is made in China also ( i am no Apple lover , but they do make good phones ) . In cars , Tesla 3 is produced in China , Polestar is Chinese . In just about every piece of equipment , China makes all of them , some being lowest of the low , others being highest of the high , and everything in the middle . 

Locomotives are not "cheap" items which is why I included that link. If they can't make good locos, what hope for cars? Are you willing to risk it at that price?

Anyway, I have a friend that works for the telephone company and he was telling me about a very expensive piece of equipment from China that didn't work, and when they opened it up it was junk. Obviously I can't prove that on here, but he had no reason to lie about it. Maybe in 20 years they will be where Japan was in the 90s.

[thaibeachlovers]

2 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

Chinese EV are creating a buzz not only in Thaland but the world. Top 5 EV manufacturers have 2 Chinese manufacturers - SAIC Motor and BYD. Like the Japanese cars which were frowned upon in the 60s and then proceeded to dominate the world, the Chinese EV will most likely to be full throttle in the future.

 

https://auto.hindustantimes.com/auto/news/tesla-to-hyundai-world-s-top-five-electric-car-makers-this-year-41635926246273.html

Hopefully governments will come to their senses and go the hydrogen route for motivating power, which if it does happen IMO will render the present type of electric car as valuable as a beta VDO player in the late 90s

[malathione]

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

I do, and don't need to plug it in anywhere.

Likewise, for fun. I do drive a car but it is decidedly non mammalian.

[relax33]

2 hours ago, jacko45k said:

So, where are all the charging stations? I would hate to get stuck in traffic half way home and then the batteries die, then have to push it the rest of the way home.

Check you tube, there are several videos of folks driving EVs from Chiangmai to Bangkok more than 6 months ago, they even have  chargers in Samui now

[clivebaxter]

2 hours ago, arithai12 said:

I respect your position on Taiwan, and we could add the Uighur and Hong Kong. However, the world economy is so globalized and complex nowadays that it's basically impossible to avoid completely the products from one specific country. I believe that you are using at this very moment much more than a chopstick from China. And frankly, if I had to follow politics over economics, there are a few other big countries I would have to avoid.

True but there is no excuse for buying their cars or phones, the behavior and policies of the CCP are despicable so support them as little as possible.

[relax33]

2 hours ago, SmartyMarty said:

Sadly their offerings have too much nasty hard plastic throughout most of the interior.

Easy to pay a little more for custom leather trimmings to be added at Thai auto shops 

[sammieuk1]

Should have called it the Musk Cat just to annoy annoying people ????

[relax33]

1 hour ago, edwinchester said:

I'd love to be able to generate my own hydrogen at home from renewables and use it to power my home and car. Refueling can be done alot quicker than a recharge too. Hopefully not to long to wait.

Folks with villas are already using solar panels to charge the car ...

[edwinchester]

51 minutes ago, sezze said:

Making hydrogen is not difficult at all , even though the efficiency is very low . The problem is , hydrogen does not go in your car . Since hydrogen is rather small , the pressure used is a bit on the high side ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_vehicle

350 to 700 bar or in psi for the US 5000 to 10000 psi . A hydrogen compressor delivering that pressure , good luck finding it anywhere at a price less then the price of 2-3 cars .

 

Yes the price is prohibitive for the private user right now but hopefully economy of scale will bring the price down. Self pressuring hydrogen generators have been developed and have been used in trials of fleet vehicles in the UK with success on internal combustion engines although the future is most likely a hydrogen fuel cell setup.

[edwinchester]

4 minutes ago, relax33 said:

Folks with villas are already using solar panels to charge the car ...

Which is great for them but in the foreseeable future battery technology is unlikely to get near the refuelling speed of filling up your tank with petrol or gas.

A vehicle with a hydrogen fuel cell can be refilled in the same time as a petrol or diesel vehicle without having the drawback of a heavy battery pack to drag around and then replace at huge expense in 5-10 years.

[IamNoone88]

Good luck with 100% electric car for traveling around Thailand with a lack of charging stations. Hybrid's ok. 

[Eric Loh]

23 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Hopefully governments will come to their senses and go the hydrogen route for motivating power, which if it does happen IMO will render the present type of electric car as valuable as a beta VDO player in the late 90s

We may have to wait a lot longer for hydrogen EV. With battery EV sales rising rapidly in the world, there will be less for research in this niche hydrogen route. Volkswagen made an interesting comment comparing energy effciency and concluded that everything speaks in favour of battery and practically nothing of hydrogen.

 

[relax33]

27 minutes ago, clivebaxter said:

True but there is no excuse for buying their cars or phones, the behavior and policies of the CCP are despicable so support them as little as possible.

Think its good to separate the common folks from the govt whenever  possible as people n businesses are just victims caught in the crossfire these days ..

US Companies lost tens of billions of $ when the govt ordered them to stop selling products n services to Chinese manufacturers n the Trade war was in reality a great loss for US consumers n companies .

Just like all Chinese companies had to comply to govt edicts, the same thing is occurring in the US where Google had to immediately stop licensing Android to Chinese phone makers when instructed to do so ...

Technically, this also means Apple n Google will be forced to allow their phones to be used for surveillance purposes if the govt orders them to do so  n to also share all data with them whenever requested ...

Which ironically is the excuse they are using to have Huawei phones banned  .. 

For those who are obsessed, the best way to ensure privacy these days is to live like Fred Flintstone

Edited November 29, 2021 by relax33

[Misterwhisper]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

“The show opened my eyes to how much China has progressed in developing its electric cars,” he said.

Yep, it took them a little while to steal together all the designs and patents from around the world and use them in their own product.

Edited November 29, 2021 by Misterwhisper

[thaibeachlovers]

1 minute ago, Eric Loh said:

We may have to wait a lot longer for hydrogen EV. With battery EV sales rising rapidly in the world, there will be less for research in this niche hydrogen route. Volkswagen made an interesting comment comparing energy effciency and concluded that everything speaks in favour of battery and practically nothing of hydrogen.

 

I guess the truck makers didn't get that message, and note the refuelling time- I scorn battery EVs for long distance travel. Fine for a toy car in the city, but useless for real transportation IMO. Also, not even stopping pollution when the electricity is generated by coal. Hydrogen rules.

 

https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/122636171/zeroemission-hydrogen-heavy-trucks-to-hit-kiwi-roads

The first heavy trucks powered by zero-emissions hydrogen fuel cells are set to be hauling freight on New Zealand highways as soon as early next year.

......................................

FCEV trucks have the benefit of being an electric vehicle, but with comparable weight and power to diesel-powered trucks, and have a similar refuelling time of around 15-20 minutes.

[relax33]

15 minutes ago, edwinchester said:

Which is great for them but in the foreseeable future battery technology is unlikely to get near the refuelling speed of filling up your tank with petrol or gas.

A vehicle with a hydrogen fuel cell can be refilled in the same time as a petrol or diesel vehicle without having the drawback of a heavy battery pack to drag around and then replace at huge expense in 5-10 years.

You are right, battery replacement cost is expensive too
Only hope that hydrogen will turn up to be safe n not morph up to be another Hindenburg disaster

[thaibeachlovers]

8 minutes ago, relax33 said:

Technically, this also means Apple n Google will be forced to allow their phones to be used for surveillance purposes if the govt orders them to do so  n to also share all data with them whenever requested ...

Which ironically is the excuse they are using to have Huawei phones banned  .. 

So, don't use one of those phones. I hope I never have to buy anything made by apple, EVER, and I'll never use google for anything but a search.

[Purdey]

It comes as no surprise to me that China is taking a lead in future products. Wealth through commerce will help tone down militarism going forward. No one needs a nuke on their manufacturing.

As for plastic use, all modern cars use a lot of plastic. Generally, 75% of volume and 10% of weight per vehicle. Lowering the weight is why EVs can go so far. The electric cars of a hundred years ago were made of steel and wood and went 30 to 80 miles on a charge. 

If Chinese EVs go far and are low cost and comfortable then people will buy them. If they break down often, then they will disappear or be improved. Almost a million baht for one certainly make it too pricey today. Mind you, I remember the first small, chrome-covered Japanese Datsuns and people laughed their socks off. Where is the British car industry today?

[relax33]

1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

So, don't use one of those phones. I hope I never have to buy anything made by apple, EVER, and I'll never use google for anything but a search.

True, whatever makes one happy ...

[Grusa]

2 hours ago, edwinchester said:

I'd love to be able to generate my own hydrogen at home from renewables and use it to power my home and car. Refueling can be done alot quicker than a recharge too. Hopefully not to long to wait.

Can you imagine the disaster waiting to happen if home production of hydrogen gets in the wrong hands? Somchai is dangerous enough using butane and propane cylinders, and he doesn't even fill them himself......

[Pravda]

Does anyone know when GM sold their factory to Great Wall a few years back did they also sell tech and equipment or did they sell just a factory? I'm a bit confused how these things work.