Two EVs Europeans can buy, but Americans can't
MAGA hates science because science says "truth" is objective, rather than whatever Our Glorious Leader says it is.
Alternative energy is science.
MAGA must therefore hate EVs?
Corporations - that includes automobile maunfacturers - are not charitable institutions. Their purpose is to rake in as much money as possible. Much of their behavior is dictated by circumstances - political, social, whatever. If political crcumstances allow them to not sell inexpensive models - the models that carry the lowest profit margins - then they will cut them from their lineup. The result is that manufacturers like Kia or Ford offer models in Europe that they do not offer in the States.
Then, of course, they say "Americans don't want them."
Why are Chinese EVs banned in the US? They are "affordable", which is supposedly important these days. I doubt anyone fears that they would somehow spy out important defense secrets and then phone home.
So... could it be that this is just the government supporting Big Business to the detriment of the average consumer? Gee... Hooda thunk it?
Kia has a good sales/service network in the States. There is absolutely no reason why the EV2 could not be sold here. Oh, wait - yes, there is! Kia can make more money selling higher-spec cars... and since the government is discouraging other manufacturers from selling affordable EVs, Kia has no incentive to do so.
Whatever
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MAGA's base is screwed - every day - by Trump and the zillionaires.
MAGA's base applaudes...
Is it surprising, then, that Trump despises his base?
There are a lot of cars that europeans can buy that aren't available in the US.
True. The interesting question is "why". Why can't the wealthiest country in the world propose the best cars? What's going on, here?
Standards. A lot has to be done to a european auto to be brought to the US.
It's called stupidity otherwise known as globalization.
EU standards are higher. You really should know more, before talking nonsense like this.
You don't know that I spent time overseas and shipped a European automobile to the states after paying for all the needed upgrades. How cute.
1950s?
In some areas, yes. In some areas, US standards are higher.
EU standards are different. For cars, the EU safety standards prioritizes pedestrian protection, mandatory active safety tech (ISA, e-call), and stricter, centralized type-approval, whereas US standards focus more on occupant protection during rollovers, non-belted crash tests, and manufacturer self-certification. To purchase a car under 25 years old from the EU and ship it to the US, there are standards that must be met.
There are even bigger differences for diesel engine vehicles. It's really simple, cars built for the EU marketplace are built to meet the EU requirements for environmental concerns and safety laws, and the laws are different in the US. You cannot just pick up a car in France and ship it over to the US and immediately start to drive it.
No.
Yes.
The US has different roof crush requirements, for example. As well as airbag performance rules.
The EU requires better pedestrian protection and automatic braking.
Unless the car is designed from the beginning to comply with EU and US regulations, you've got some serious modifications to do.
They're not technically banned.
The Biden Administration enacted a 100% tariff on them in 2024, so they also would not be "affordable". Also, under Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, they don't qualify for tax credits, because they're not made in the US.
Yes.
It could be sold here. But you answered that yourself... Americans don't want them. Americans prefer larger cars. The EV2 is basically a smaller, electric version of the Kia Soul, which only sold about 50k units last year. Given that Americans only buy electric cars 10% of the time, you might realistically expect to sell 5,000 units. That's not enough to justify the expense of getting them certified here.
Americans also prefer those cars. We have sales data. There are literally hundreds of billions of dollars at stake here. Car companies know what Americans will buy.
How?
Our government literally gave us thousands of dollars to go buy EVs, and we still weren't interested. Exactly what do you expect them to do?
None so blind...
Well, stop ignoring all the pertinent information and you'll see better.