Submitted 22 hours ago by schizoidman@lemmy.zip to technology@lemmy.world
https://www.carscoops.com/2025/10/this-is-what-rivian-thinks-of-xiaomis-popular-suv/
cross-posted from: lemmy.zip/post/51970309
Rivian’s CEO praised the Xiaomi EV’s design after a teardown.
RJ Scaringe said he’d buy the SU7 himself if he lived in China.
He called it a well-integrated, nicely executed technology platform.
Why did they need to tear it apart to discover the advantage was government funding? It this just a click bait headline?
They wanted to see if there were any cut corners that could help explain the low cost other than government funding and the general low cost of labour in China. Did not find any cut corners during their teardown and sang the cars praises.
This is probably some agreement witn the Chinese government to give good press in other parts of the world in order to get benefits on vehicles sold in China. Ford’s CEO put out a nearly identical article a few months ago.
And $45B in unchecked debt, and no payments to parts suppliers in 8 months.
So exactly what everyone has been saying in the open for 5 years now. Massive government subsidies.
It’s also what happens when the entire world outsources manufacturing to one county: that country gets really really good at making stuff better than anybody else in the world.
Don’t forget the stockpiles of cash by not fairly paying their labor. The PRC has been playing the long game.
Until someone can do it cheaper and then they take over. This has already happened many, many times as chinese quality increased and wages and thus prices increased.
It’s just capitalism doing capitalism things. The cheapest labor generates the greatest profits. It started with trinkets and now it’s much more advanced manufacturing. We’ve already seen other countries with cheaper labor step in for various manufacturing.
The only reason why we don’t manufacture in rich companies is because the investment for automation and labor for maintenance is more expensive than continuing production in poorer countries. Exceptions are abound for things that aren’t financially viable to import from other areas.
We’ll run out of resources and/or destroy the environment long before the world gets western QOL across the board though.
I’m sure you know more than AJ on this topic 🤷♂️.
And decades of IP theft.
IP laws are a hindrance to communal development and progress. China has no IP protection, and the benefits are demonstrated by stuff like this.
I don’t know how you encourage people to invest in R&D without IP, but it’s clear we can do greater things faster as a society without it.
China did not steal IP on battery technology, they created it.
It also removes incentive to invest in research, so you need a balance. In a communist, that’s not a problem.
He called it a well-integrated, nicely executed technology platform.
:vomit:
miss me with this garbage.
Why? What’s garbage about it? A CEO admiring their competitor’s product seems like one of the most sincere and straightforward statements you’re ever going to get out ofa CEO.
Not the person you’re replying to, but “technology platform” as a way of referring to a car grosses me out, personally.
Its a car. It should take me places. The technology in it, should be technology that takes me places safely, and that’s it. Calling it a technology platform frames it like a car is a consumer electronics device, and consumer electronics are generally user hostile feature bloated unrepairable nightmares 😅
Still sounds like a pretty well made car though. I’m not surprised china has very capable manufacturers.
I value privacy and believe cars shouldnt be iPhones on wheels.
Not only they have normal healthcare, but also beating capitalist in its game.
I wonder how true china is gonna be to Marxism - do they want socialism on the entire planet and only keeping the cards tight for now?
China will never become socialist. They’re loving the authoritarian state capitalism’s benefits to their elites too much.
Is China’s actual wealth gap increasing or decreasing due to their adoption of capitalist policies?
Bigger middle class than the US now.
lemming741@lemmy.world 19 hours ago
There is zero substance in that article so I will save you a click
massive_bereavement@fedia.io 19 hours ago
Ah, I thought it was indentured servitude, but then that's why we have prisons.
CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works 8 hours ago
No it’s definitely their monopoly on the rare earth mineral market.
DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 15 hours ago
Slave labor isn’t usually used for things vulnerable to sabotage.
Try putting a slave in a chemical plant and telling them they can blow the building up by tossing a water bottle in a vat for example.
A vehicle factory probably isn’t quite that risky but there’s still plenty of options for chaos.