Urgh, politics: All those crazy cheap Chinese EVs have become a problem in China
Those unbelievably cheap Chinese electric cars landing on Australian shores aren't just a great deal; they're the most visible symptom of a massive industrial and political headache brewing in their home market.
The situation has become so serious that even President Xi Jinping is now publicly questioning the very strategy that created it.
For years, Beijing's top-down directive to dominate the EV world sparked a chaotic gold rush. Provincial officials, incentivised to chase growth at all costs, funnelled billions into hundreds of would-be carmakers.
The result was a glut of manufacturers and redundant projects, a problem Xi himself highlighted in a recent speech.
"When it comes to projects... new energy vehicles," he asked, "Do all provinces in the country have to develop industries in these directions?"
It’s a pointed question that reveals the core failure of the central plan. Now, with a brutal domestic price war raging and a mountain of debt piling up, the blame game has begun.
This isn't just a quiet course correction; it’s a public dressing-down of the officials who were, until recently, just following orders. Xi’s warning was sharp and aimed squarely at his own apparatus: "We should not let some people pass the buck and leave problems to future generations."
This internal crisis is precisely why our market, and others like Europe, are being flooded. For Chinese brands, exporting cars to Australia at bargain prices is a desperate, essential measure to offload excess inventory.
The west's hunger for affordable cars has become the perfect pressure-release valve for their state-sponsored oversupply problem. The great deals we see are a direct byproduct of a market distortion an ocean away.
A NOTE FROM 'THE EDITOR'
Don't expect news coverage of Chinese cars on Righto Turbo
Simply put, I can't bring myself to offer coverage to any brand whose master and nation is responsible for numerous human rights abuses.
It's one reason I don't work in motoring media anymore: writing about Chinese EVs is a big part of the job now, and I find myself unable to focus on the car alone. Others can separate the product from its origins; I find I cannot.
I often hear "dude I bet your phone is made in China". Of course it is. Where can I buy a halfway decent phone that isn't made in China, to some significant extent? Besides, I don't blog about phones.
When it comes to cars, with 60+ brands available in Australia, I don't think we need to so wilfully ignore the government that stands behind, underwrites and effectively owns the brands. And, in case it's your next "yes, but" moment – no, I don't want to "separate the art from the artist".
That's... ridiculous. No musician or actor has ever been guilty of crimes on the scale of what the CCP has wrought – it is not a comparable notion.
Likewise, the irresistible, go-to 'low prices, high-tech' argument is, in my opinion, little more than turning a blind eye to crime in favour of personal gain.
I should add, at this point, that a number of legacy brands are not doing everything they can to work against human rights abuses. Take a look at this Amnesty International report to see how the likes of Nissan, Hyundai and Mitsubishi rank.
It's not an issue that can be solved overnight, but some, like Polestar, are at least delivering regular updates on their work in this space.
Anyway... I'd better not travel to China. 😂
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