The EV situation in Asia is changing rapidly, and would shock most Americans. The number of Ora Cats, BYD, and other unknown brands on the road would be surprising at first glance. When they see the interior, technology, and range of the cars is not at all cut-rate, they understand the reason why traditional manufacturers are frightened.

I read an article that said this all started with Tesla production in China needing local manufacturing to support. The Tesla way allowed Chinese brands to see what was being done and catch up almost immediately on the processes and technology. That was step 1. Step 2 was applying the better understanding of what the Asian market wants to the Tesla business model. VW was the largest Chinese manufacturer, but VW EVs have flopped and are by all measures worse than what is offered by say BYD. There was a VW anecdote about BYD having in-car karaoke and this never occurring to Germans as something people would want.