Electric Vehicles

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Electric Vehicles are a key part of our tomorrow and how we get there. If we can get all the fossil fuel vehicles off our roads, out of our seas and out of our skies, we'll have a much better environment. This community is where we discuss the various different vehicles and news stories regarding electric transportation.

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'Unless Things Change, We Will Not Survive': Even Toyota Doesn't Feel Safe Right Now (insideevs.com)

submitted 5 days ago by Delta_V@lemmy.world to c/electricvehicles@slrpnk.net

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...things need to change, or Toyota, the world's largest car company by sales, "will not survive."

...If Toyota feels like it's losing ground, then the ground is probably moving.

The problem isn't just one thing, either. It's everything, everywhere, all at once. Chinese automakers are gaining ground quickly and setting a new standard for manufacturing costs. Software is becoming a core part of cutting-edge vehicle. Tariffs are still a thing. The auto industry has seen more upheaval in the last few years than it did over the last several decades...

Toyota has always had extremely strict quality standards...But that could soon change.

The brand is implementing something that it calls "Smart Standard Activity." This is meant to slash...quality standards...Toyota believes it will lower the price of its components...

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[–] IphtashuFitz@lemmy.world 16 points 5 days ago (3 children)

Here’s to hoping the whole dealership model crashes & burns as well.

[–] sprack@lemmy.world 9 points 4 days ago

I understand the sentiment but it’s also intended to make sure there is a location with parts and people trained to repair the vehicles they sell. The cost reduced alternative may be worse.

[–] SharkAttak@kbin.melroy.org 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Sorry, a car Is still something I have to look, feel and drive before I shell the moneys.

[–] IphtashuFitz@lemmy.world 0 points 4 days ago (1 children)

You can test drive a Tesla at a Tesla showroom. You can test drive a Rivian at a Rivian showroom. You can then buy one of them for exactly the price listed on their respective websites. There’s no haggling with sales people, no negotiating over random features, etc.

[–] SharkAttak@kbin.melroy.org 0 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Wait, so what do you mean with dealership? Not the kind of shop where you can see and feel a car and then buy it? And you'd need staff anyways.

[–] IphtashuFitz@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Do you not understand the concept of a car dealership? You can not buy a car directly from Toyota or Honda or Ford, etc. Prior to roughly 2010 it was illegal in all 50 US states to sell automobiles direct to the consumer. If you wanted to buy a new car you had to buy it through an independent dealership, which is basically a middleman that tacks on various fees, etc. and tries to upsell add-ons.

Part of the way they make money is to not publicize the actual amount you will pay but instead publish the MSRP and their dealership markup. Then they’ll pretty much force you to negotiate that, along with haggling over optional accessories, trying to convince you to finance the car through them etc. So you may not even know the final cost of a new car until you spend hours haggling with them and commit to buying it.

One thing Tesla did right is to get rid of that independent dealership model and sell direct to consumers. You can go to one of their showrooms and test drive a car, and if you decide to buy one you just go onto the website and order it. The price on the website is exactly what you’ll pay. No dealer middleman is adding unnecessary fees just to sell the car to you, and nobody is pressuring you to finance through them etc.

[–] SharkAttak@kbin.melroy.org 1 points 2 days ago

I understand it, thank you very much. What I mean is that here we have a e.g. Ford showroom where you go, look at the cars and maybe drive them: then you sit down, choose color and optionals and buy it. No strange negotiations or haggling for hours like we were in a sukh. That's why I thought you meant something different.

[–] sparkyshocks@lemmy.zip 1 points 4 days ago

A lot of these legacy automakers have to deal with a supplier network, too. EVs will also need those relationships, but it will likely be with different companies, and cause some friction in broken relationships. The company manufacturing fuel pumps might not have the same future as the company manufacturing wiring harnesses.