[Martinjlm]

Originally Posted by Capricio

So, they can sell in europe at 100% margin and still be competitive?


Okay, great, when can I buy my $10k COTY Kia EV9?

Well, let’s consider the fact that Kia is S. Korean not Chinese and aside from the fact that a Class D Premium SUV and a Class B low content sedan, the only thing they have in common is four wheels and the ability to drive from A to B. They are as similar as a piano and a harmonica, which both make music but exist in wildly different price ranges. So … never.

And yes, they can sell in Europe at 100% margin and be competitive with European produced EVs because they’ve already produced enough vehicles in their home market to move way down the cost curve. Those vehicles weren’t always $16k in China. The prices recently dropped to that level.

Looking at Tesla again, last year, because they’ve reached economies of scale, they’ve been able to reduce the prices on Model 3 and Model Y by thousands of dollars to be price competitive with ICE models. Model 3 starts at $36k. Model Y starts at $43,990. For those that qualify for IRA it’s $36,490. Both those numbers are very competitive with ICE vehicles in the same class. But they used to be much higher. The downside of that is by dropping the new car prices so rapidly, Tesla has tanked the resale value for the Model 3 and Model Y cars they sold in prior years for over $60k.