Technology

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[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 week ago

They chose to actively ignore EV technology. Despite 80-100 years of manufacturing , they got overtaken by China in just 15 years.

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[–] Aceticon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 1 week ago* (4 children)

You mean Volks "we don't even make an effort for our cars to obbey emission rules and instead we cheated" wagen is having trouble staying afloat?!

I wonder how such a high quality company which was not at all doing funny business and using political connections is having trouble competing with those who just offer better products at lower prices ...

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[–] boonhet@lemmy.zip 0 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Volkswagen has made a ton of dumb mistakes, but among the worst are paying union wages and not getting super cheap lithium batteries from being located in a country that has a well integrated supply chain.

We don't want to mine or refine lithium as much in the EU because "boohoo muh environment" but really, if we want to compete with China we can't let the environment be a deciding factor. Mine and refine all the resources we need instead of buying them from China and letting them dictate the prices. China doesn't give a fuck about small issues standing in its way and neither should we.

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[–] adjectivenoun@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago (2 children)

"We can't let the environment be a deciding factor" is a preposterous take. There's practically nothing more important that preserving the environment. Even the Chinese are looking beyond their borders for raw materials these days. If it costs more to extract raw materials in a way that doesn't fuck up the environment, then subsidize it and pay for it. We can fund the subsidies with a carbon tax.

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[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 1 point 1 week ago (1 child)

It's not a preposterous take for China. They do whatever it takes to win and it shows. Lower wages, less considerations for the environment, etc.

Everything we care about has a cost. If we want the cheapest possible EVs, which most people here seem to want, then we need to ignore everything else. So you decide. Do you want super cheap EVs, or do you want good working conditions and limited pollution? And if it's the latter, tariffs on Chinese EVs make sense because they do not adhere by the same rules.

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[–] adjectivenoun@lemmy.world 1 point 1 week ago

I want the latter, and tariffs are not the only way go about protectionism. There is also subsidization, which is how the US has maintained its defense and agriculture industries. If we want stuff made domestically, we're going to have to pay for it. Subsidies are generally preferable to tariffs because they can be paid through progressive taxation instead of regressive taxes on consumers.