[Quicksilver85]

https://indianautosblog.com/3-chines...rating-p326287

Hello TBHPians,

I want to understand what is the appetite of my fellow BHPians to own a well priced EV made by a Chinese manufacturer.

The link to a recent report on IAB, shows 3 Chinese EVs achieving the 5-star NCAP rating. This should not come as a surprise, Chinese made EVs are leap-frogging the established players in the automotive space in providing EVs with desirable designs (Courtesy lateral hiring of competitor designers), game changing EV battery tech (Blade battery by BYD), now the icing on the cake, NCAP reassurance.

For those of you who want to understand my stand before you feed in your thoughts, I never paid attention at these Chinese EVs (MG-ZS, MG-Comet, BYD-Atto 3 etc), but, the more time spent on Youtube, I hear praises from International autoJournos (CarWow and few more I dont recall), I kind of coming to realize the eventual reality, Chinese EVs will be here in India directly (BYD/MG) or indirectly (Tech transfer/collaborations with domestic companies)

Questions to answer:
1) Would you consider EV made by a Chinese manufacturer if not now, maybe 5 years down the lane? Yes/No. What are the reasons
2) At what price point compared to the current Nexon EV Long Range? Below or above?
3) Would you wait for other markets experiences to see how durable these products would be in the long before deciding?
4) What is your biggest concern with a Chinese made EV? (Durability/Reliability? Data Privacy? Build quality/Quality concerns?

Moderators: I have searched recent threads in the forum and could not find anything related to this topic. Kindly merge this thread if similar one already exists.

[ike]

Originally Posted by Quicksilver85

Questions to answer:

1) Would you consider EV made by a Chinese manufacturer if not now, maybe 5 years down the lane? Yes/No. What are the reasons

I would consider all cars available in the segment if I were car shopping and not exclude any cars for something as trivial as the country of origin. Rather than giving into meaningless jingoism and rhetoric, you should be getting what suits your requirements the best, whether it is now or later irrespective of whether it is a car that you are getting or something else.

[electric_eel]

Originally Posted by ike

I would consider all cars available in the segment if I were car shopping and not exclude any cars for something as trivial as the country of origin. Rather than giving into meaningless jingoism and rhetoric, you should be getting what suits your requirements the best, whether it is now or later irrespective of whether it is a car that you are getting or something else.

I will definitely consider if it is a reputed firm like BYD, MG etc. However, I would like to keep the cars for long (as long as possible) and would like to be sure that spare and services are available. On the other hand I have privacy concerns with the so called connected car features whether it is from Tesla, Tata or BYD.

[GTO]

100% yes. China - as a country - is becoming the emperor of EVs. They lost out on petrol & diesel cars, but then bet the house on EVs. And it shows. Just drive the MG ZS EV or the BYDs and you'll see how sorted they are. Their expertise in EVs shows.

Personally, I don't support CBUs and am glad that India has stiff make-here-to-sell-here custom duties that encourage local manufacturing. MG India employs thousands of Indians & has made investments in India. Why would I not buy an MG?

In today's truly global economy, one cannot reject a product because of where its parent is from. Go check the gadgets in your household and see how many are made in China. Do you know how many Chinese components there are in the Tata & Mahindra EVs?

[ike]

Originally Posted by electric_eel

would like to be sure that spare and services are available

Of course! However there is no all seasons guarantee that a manufacturer(or a human being for that matter) will still be around 3, 5 or 10 years from now. I for one never imagined people would start doubting long term survival of Honda cars. Same with Jeep. I also never imagined I'd be around to see Toyota having an agreement with Suzuki to rebadge their cars when Toyota has a wide range of cars in it's portfolio globally. And people are still not very unhappy yet AFAIK with Ford service despite their exit but getting parts for an old Indica is a struggle.

It is a bit of a gamble buying from established brands too.

[Shresth_EV]

Originally Posted by Quicksilver85

I want to understand what is the appetite of my fellow BHPians to own a well priced EV made by a Chinese manufacturer.

I would avoid a Chinese EV purely due to govt stance with the brand (eg BYD being denied by Indian govt for investment) it really alarms me as a buyer about the future of the brand and it’s products in the country regarding service and spares.

In fact, we wanted to go for the ZS EV (being a globally sold EV in UK/Aus) back in 2021 as an urgent replacement for our Eon LPG which fell into disrepair during pandemic.

As it stood, MG didn’t have a sales and service at the time in Lucknow (Kona and Nexon did) and that’s how we ended up with Nexon.

1) Would you consider EV made by a Chinese manufacturer if not now, maybe 5 years down the lane? Yes/No. What are the reasons

If the govt is less hostile to the brands. They don’t seem to have problems with xiaomi and others with plethora of privacy issues. And a phone is close to you for more than 20h whereas you may use a car 2h max per day.

2) At what price point compared to the current Nexon EV Long Range? Below or above?

Anything upto 30L is fine. Beyond that I’d go for the Ioniqx/EVx models from HMG

3) Would you wait for other markets experiences to see how durable these products would be in the long before deciding?

I’m already convinced they’re solid cars and even better EVs. Id buy a Nio or Xpeng in a heartbeat if I was in PRC or Norway.

The Nio ET5 Touring is just

4) What is your biggest concern with a Chinese made EV? (Durability/Reliability? Data Privacy? Build quality/Quality concerns?

Whether they’ll be around 10y after I buy the car or not. I don’t want to end up in a Fiat or Ford situation again (though Ford support has been more than expected despite exit)

[Quicksilver85]

Originally Posted by ike

I would consider all cars available in the segment if I were car shopping and not exclude any cars for something as trivial as the country of origin. Rather than giving into meaningless jingoism and rhetoric, you should be getting what suits your requirements the best, whether it is now or later irrespective of whether it is a car that you are getting or something else.

No, I am seriously considering the prospect of an EV from Chinese manufacturer like BYD in the future. That is the reason for starting this thread

Originally Posted by GTO

100% yes. China - as a country - is becoming the emperor of EVs. They lost out on petrol & diesel cars, but then bet the house on EVs. And it shows. Just drive the MG ZS EV or the BYDs and you'll see how sorted they are. Their expertise in EVs shows.

Personally, I don't support CBUs and am glad that India has stiff make-here-to-sell-here custom duties that encourage local manufacturing. MG India employs thousands of Indians & has made investments in India. Why would I not buy an MG?

In today's truly global economy, one cannot reject a product because of where its parent is from. Go check the gadgets in your household and see how many are made in China. Do you know how many Chinese components there are in the Tata & Mahindra EVs?

@GTO: Yes, I have made peace with that fact that China will overtake all traditional carmakers in this space. They/Chinese have invested heavily into Lithium mines across the world as well. Now, all other manufacturers are playing "catch-up". Not sure if there is an alternative in place for Lithium at the moment, I hear some stories on Na+ ion, Hydrogen fuel cells doing rounds but I am taking them with a pinch of salt at the moment.

It is the "Kodak" moment in photography or say "Nokia" moment in mobiles for the well established OEM car companies. How future pans out for EVs is anybody's guess at the moment. Will ICE survive alongside EV, or EV will be the undisputed King of mobility even companies are confused

Originally Posted by ike

Of course! However there is no all seasons guarantee that a manufacturer(or a human being for that matter) will still be around 3, 5 or 10 years from now. I for one never imagined people would start doubting long term survival of Honda cars. Same with Jeep. I also never imagined I'd be around to see Toyota having an agreement with Suzuki to rebadge their cars when Toyota has a wide range of cars in it's portfolio globally. And people are still not very unhappy yet AFAIK with Ford service despite their exit but getting parts for an old Indica is a struggle.

It is a bit of a gamble buying from established brands too.

ike: I own a Honda Brio and Jeep Compass so don't say that I agree with you, lot of things have changed recently including Toyota rebadging MSIL products to sustain in the Indian market without bringing the horses from their stables I know they will have their reasons, but, dont Indian consumers deserve better than the tin-can 0 star cars from India's biggest OEM?

[SmartCat]

Moderator Note: Poll added!

[pram_ind]

I love my MG ZS EV. Man I took the car from Bangalore to Pune-Nashik- Aurangabad-Bangalore and it performed effortlessly. I was cruising at 100-105 KMPH with 80% AC on and it returned amazing mileage of 7.8 Km/KWh.

The entire trip I fast charged mostly on 60KWh chargers with no conditions on having slow charging every 3 Fast charge etc.

So yes I will prefer Chinese cars which are proven reliable.

[payeng]

I have the TIAGO.EV

I am Happy and Proud (aakhir maine TATA ka Namak Khaya hai)

[DicKy]

NO.

Call it jingoism or whatever. Stubbornly stand by it.

And even if buying a Chinese product is unavoidable, I stand by three exceptions:
1. Assembled using Chinese parts, But Made in India.
2. By a non-Chinese company, but Made in China.
3. Worst case. Made by a Chinese company, but Made in India.

It is stupid I know, makes shopping much more difficult. Though in recent years, it is much more easier with many products like toys and electronics having 'Made in India' tag.
No, it may have components Made in China or in fact may have been wholly assembled using parts from China, but none of the electronic items or smartphones in my household have a 'Made in China' plate.

But that is for other items. For EVs? Heck, even cars? No way. The Nexon is a kit car made with Chinese batteries and motors AFAIK, but I would buy that contraption than buying an international quality MG ZS EV. Yeah, am that stupid. Would have bought the overpriced dinky Comet if it was non-Chinese cause it fits our needs for a runabout to the T. Would have bought the Chevrolet Enjoy if it was not Chinese.

As car enthusiasts we have our irrational, emotional reasons. Treat this as one.

[lazy]

I'll never buy a Chinese EV, or even a non-EV.

I consciously avoid buying anything made in China or Chinese brand products. Been serious about this since the Doklam incident.

Before anyone asks - yes, there are quite a few imported products at home, but Chinese (branded or made) products are bought only and only if there are no alternatives available.

It may be insignificant, but it's my contribution towards not contributing towards an enemy of my country.

regards
lazy

[Behemoth]

Yes I would consider a Chinese car if it offered good technology and value for money.
Three years back I had a different view but we realized that it is just not possible to get the right options at the right price with other alternatives. We ended up buying a MG Hector Plus 2 years back and we are quite happy with the car.

[V.Narayan]

Just purchased a Volvo C40 EV. Is it a Chinese product - Geely owns Volvo now. Or is it a Swedish product? Are Tata EVs with batteries and other significant parts imported from China an Indian product or a Chinese product? All cars built in India have parts from China! It is like some part of the world saying can we buy software untouched by a software developer from India. It is an interconnected world.

Take an illustration - raw materials imported from Africa, Australia go into making parts/machinery for Hyundai which are then exported to India where they are assembled along with other parts made in India, South Korea and Thailand. The car is then sold by Hyundai in Brazil. Is it a South Korean car or is it an Indian car? - and what about its Chinese content.

As patriotic Indians we have reason to be angry about Doklam and Galwan and the double games played by the current Chinese Govt but not buying what we perceive to be a Chinese brand {e.g. BYD} but buying what we perceive to be a European brand {e.g. Volvo} won't help.

IMHO encouraging larger investments by China into Indian industry thus rebuilding our manufacturing base is the way to go. Certain security risk sectors such as telecom, networks, power plants would be some no go areas but the rest should be permitted.

[rajshenoy]

No, but not only because of the current geo political situation but china became a super power(similarly US, Japan or Korea) by encouraging locally made goods. I am still hanging on to my Japanese cars(they are that reliable) with the hope that my next car is going to be an indian brand.

My answer would have been same even if we replaced China with Germany,US or Korea.