Everyone’s talking about Chinese EVs. There’s this narrative present in the industry right now that America is failing, China has surpassed us technologically, and its EVs are poised to wipe the floor with American OEMs should the day a Chinese EV ever be sold here. After all, American automakers certainly keep pace on price, right?
Rivian CEO: Don’t Worry About Chinese EV Pricing
Speaking on InsideEVsPlugged-In Podcast, Rivian CEO CEO RJ Scaringe had a lot to say about Chinese EVs and their potential impact on the American electric car industry. The CEO believes “everyone” should be planning their cars around the arrival of Chinese EVs in the American market.
Automakers Should Still Be Scared Of Chinese Tech
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However, it’s not cost the industry should be hyper-focusing on. Chinese competitors drive their own prices down within their home market. Replicating these economic circumstances in the US would be tough, especially with import tariffs of any kind, to say nothing of the higher rates imposed by the Trump Administration.
Instead, Scaringe says technology from China should have American OEMs worried. “What’s alarming, if you’re looking at the whole industry, is that the technology is much better,” he said, referring to China’s EV industry. “If I was an existing manufacturer, I’d get less hung up on the cost and more focused on ‘the cars are actually better.'”
The cars may be better, but Chinese OEMs have a long road ahead of them if they wish to bring their products to the US market. US regulators and automakers adopt a protectionist stance against foreign automakers all the time, and that’s doubly true of cars from China, one of the US’s most politically tenuous relationships.
