Chinese EV's are here behind the Volvo badge

[Ray-IN]

How Volvo landed a cheap Chinese EV on U.S. shores in a trade war

The EX30 from Volvo Cars, the Swedish luxury brand owned by China’s Geely, foreshadows the fierce competitive threat U.S. automakers could face from Chinese EV manufacturers.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Skookum]

The Polestar brand is (was) a partnership between Volvo and Geely. Polestar sold their own line of EV's here in the US. Much of the tech developed with Geely in China made it into Volvo's EV's. For example, the Polestar sedan is incredibly similar to the Volvo C40 and EX40 EV's.

Volvo shed its ownership in Polestar after getting what it was after from the deal and now Polestar is controlled directly by Geely. Notably, Geely still owns a majority share of Volvo.

The EX30 is the price point that is needed for a good EV. They'll fly off the shelves and I think have already elevated Volvo's market share substantially in the EV space.

Having spent time in both Polestars and Volvo's C40 as rentals, they are excellent cars.

 

[Viajeros]

Chinese manufacturers need a Mexican factory presence to break into the North American market in a serious way. That may take a few years. It will give some of the other manufacturers time to regroup…but it won’t take long.

 

[Ray-IN]

Well, China has proven they can build a quality auto that sells in the U.S.A since 2016 https://gmauthority.com/blog/2024/03/refreshed-2024-buick-envision-s-officially-debuts-in-china/
I wonder how long until it becomes an EV?

 

[Skookum]

Well, China has proven they can build a quality auto that sells in the U.S.A since 2016 https://gmauthority.com/blog/2024/03/refreshed-2024-buick-envision-s-officially-debuts-in-china/
I wonder how long until it becomes an EV?

The Chinese-built Envision is an ICV platform shared with the Cadillac XT4. GM's strategy has been to develop entirely new platforms for EV's, so it's unlikely we'll get a Chinese-built EV from GM. They manufacture and sell various EV's in China under Chevrolet, Buick, and Cadillac names because China is ahead of us in that regard. They don't hiss and scream at EV's, they actually sell pretty well. They already sell a Buick EV there called the Electra E5 based on GM's Ultium EV platform.

We get the Ultium EV platform too, large, medium, and small, but ours are made here. Which administration was it...I don't recall...in the last 3 years...put in a bunch of legislation to incentivize US automakers to source and manufacturer EV's domestically, and those EV's are the only ones eligible for the big tax credits for consumers. My guess is the door will be shut on Chinese EV's no matter which administration holds power in the next few years.