“ Most of them will be cheaply made Chinese devices with limited longevity and poor recyclability that will end up clogging landfills after a few years. ”
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Based on the Chinese options already released, they already have a brand new, sodium-based, good looking, well built real car, for sale right now (see for yourself at this link;
https://www.carscoops.com/2023/04/byds-seagull-starts-at-just-11300-and-has-sodium-ion-battery/
For $11,300
I am very familiar with purchasing items directly from China... I have done it many times.
Your link says toward the bottom referring to the electric car they are promoting, “It is unclear if BYD intends on selling the Seagull in any markets outside of China.”
Your link is basically meaningless. Yet you can already buy many types of electric vehicles from China. They seem quite cheap, but you have to add in shipping, handling, tariffs and other charges. I will stand by my previous prediction... the vast majority of the Chinese electric “vehicles” will continue to be at the lower end of the price scale for who knows how long.
Some of them are quite interesting, but they typically have limited utility because few if any comply with the myriad of rules and requirements that federal and state governments impose. And that is a big hurdle and not likely to go away any time soon.
$2000 electric truck before shipping, handling and taxes:
https://youtu.be/irpe3biuBIU
$1000 electric boat before shipping, handling and taxes:
https://youtu.be/G_P7Py0N66g
Chinese Electric Car Graveyard:
https://youtu.be/uD8qqEx4G18