this post was submitted on 19 Sep 2026
331 points (91.9% liked)
Technology
88163 readers
2755 users here now
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Our Rules
- Follow the lemmy.world rules.
- Only tech related news or articles.
- Be excellent to each other!
- Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
- Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
- Politics threads may be removed.
- No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
- Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
- Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
- Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.
Approved Bots
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
One way the Chinese government is "subsidizing" their cars is by suppressing the living standards of its people.
That and their industry doesn't appear to be as bloated and shareholder-driven.
You mean letting billionaires avoid tax, adding tariffs to everything, and driving up the price of gas?
Chinese people don't invest in stocks because you'd have to be a fool to compete with the Chinese government as an investor. Returns are perpetually suppressed.
JFC Lemmy... BYD is a public company and was originally funded by Warren Buffet. He made almost 9 billion.
Key figures and findings regarding BYD's government funding include:
The Kiel Institute Study (2018–2022): A widely cited study by Germany’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy estimated that BYD received approximately $3.7 billion (€3.4 billion) in direct government subsidies between 2018 and 2022.
Scaling Support: State aid to the company ramped up significantly over time. For example, out of the $3.7 billion tracked through 2022, a major share—roughly $2.2 billion—was awarded in 2022 alone.
Annual Financial Disclosures: BYD regularly lists government grants, subsidies, and R&D support in its public financial reports. For instance, annual filings have shown billions of yuan in recurring state backing channeled into specific production lines and technological innovations.
Broader Context
While the $3.7 billion figure covers tracked direct corporate aid, international trade analysts and economists point out that BYD's total structural advantages also stem from wider government policies. These include:
Supply Chain Subsidies: Extensive state backing upstream in the EV supply chain, particularly for battery manufacturers (such as localized support for lithium processing and battery cell production).
Infrastructure and Operational Perks: Access to heavily subsidized land, cheap electricity, and localized tax incentives designed to accelerate China's green technology and clean energy sectors.
Basically, the only thing the US failed to do from this list was a successful pivot to green technologies and the cheap, abundant electricity they could provide. There were many plans that had plans to process and build lithium batteries, that were dismantled after Trump 2.
Honestly I do think the US should do this too. But as China is currently the only one doing it on this scale, it is vastly skewing market dynamics.