Chinese Vision vs. US Lack of Vision in Auto Industry, & Excessive Government Support

---

---

Last Updated on: 22nd June 2025, 12:03 pm

There are a couple of claims about China and its car industry that are quite common and aim to discredit what Chinese automakers have been achieving in the EV world. Overall, the idea is that EV producers get too much government support. However, there are a couple of things to note about this that a commenter recently pointed out in an insightful comment on CleanTechnica.

First of all, a key is really the consistency of China’s long-term vision to transition to EVs. China has had quite a consistent and predictable drive in its long-term goal of phasing out polluting gas cars. It has used various carrots and sticks in that regard. That’s a positive thing. Europe has been similar, but has had a little more auto industry influence trying to slow down or effectively slowing down pro-EV policies. The US has been like a slow, old, half-broken train trying to get somewhere with its EV policies. When Democrats have had power, they’ve gotten almost half-decent policies through. When Republicans have been in power, they’ve pulled those back a bit. Is it China’s fault that Europe and especially the US have weaker, less persistent policies telling the auto industry that it’s time to move to EVs? Is it a problem that China is consistent and doesn’t give in to legacy automakers and back down on its vision?

Before I get to the second point, I’ll include that reader comment, from “fsc,” here in full:

“The evil Chinese government is helping the companies out-competing the very corporations that the Holy US Government ILLEGALLY bailed out from bankruptcy! Let’s punish China for interfering in the market!

“My hypocrisy meter goes red on this whole theme about how it is China’s fault that they have an industrial policy and the US does not. IMHO: it is the opposite. We failed to adapt to changing technology and consumer desires and are getting our lunch eaten for our corporate short-sightedness.

“This is 1980’s Japanese car crisis 2.0

“When the oil crisis hit, Americans wanted small cars and Detroit refused to make them. ‘Big cars, big profits. Small cars, small profits’ Henry Ford III once said. They dragged their feet as the market evolved and got hit by their arrogance. I am old enough to remember the bumper stickers: ‘No job? Eat your Toyota.’ People were really pissed-off at Japan while they were making a killing in showrooms despite the hatred.

“Now that the world demands EVs, we are seeing a news rerun of the 1980s. Just substitute BYD for Toyota, and the US market for the world.

“‘Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it.’ George Santayana”

The second point here is about the bailouts. The US has interfered in the market significantly by bailing out its legacy automakers when the were in crisis. The Germany government has heavily supported the German auto industry, the French government the French auto industry, the Italian government the Italian auto industry….

I’ve actually been surprised at times at how willing China has been to let giant companies collapse and go bankrupt. In particular, I was surprised to see this in the solar industry, but it has been the case in other industries as well. If big Chinese automakers do get into financial trouble, will the Chinese government bail them out? I wouldn’t bet on it, actually. There are plenty of highly competitive automakers, and I assume the government would let the market play out and let the best companies win. The Chinese government seems very keen on having intense competition and then letting the market pick winners and losers. It seems that the government is much less under the thumb of mega-corporations than governments in the West.

Of course, some may see that as a problem — the government having too much power. But in this case, in the auto industry, having a strong government that is not pushed around by slow-moving legacy automakers appears to be a definite plus that leads to more competitive companies, a more competitive industry, and faster innovation and growth. The Chinese government is not letting itself be dragged back or slowed down by excessive corporate influence. The vision is there, the vision is good, and the vision is being implemented.

This article is also being published as our weekly column on Substack. You can subscribe there to help support CleanTechnica’s years of work in the cleantech media industry.