Chinese technology companies are paving the way for a world that will be powered by electric motors rather than gas-guzzling engines. It is a decisively 21st-century approach not just to solve its own energy problems, but also to sell batteries and other electric products to everyone else. Canada is its newest buyer of EVs; in a rebuke of Mr. Trump, its prime minister, Mark Carney, lowered tariffs on the cars as part of a new trade deal.

Though Americans have been slow to embrace electric vehicles, Chinese households have learned to love them. In 2025, 54 percent of new cars sold in China were either battery-powered or plug-in hybrids. That is a big reason that the country’s oil consumption is on track to peak in 2027, according to forecasts from the International Energy Agency. And Chinese E.V makers are setting records — whether it’s BYD’s sales (besting Tesla by battery-powered vehicles sold for the first time last year) or Xiaomi’s speed (its cars are setting records at major racetracks like Nürburgring in Germany).

  • jof@lemmy.worldEnglish
    12·
    12 hours ago

    That is excellent and cost effective, however what then when there’s no sun out or it’s cloudy? Will you not travel?

    • AA5B@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      12 hours ago

      This is one of the concerns I have watched with interest ……

      • with the first mass market push to wind “grid won’t be stable with any significant amount”
      • as wind and solar became more popular “renewables can only be 30% without destabilizing the grid
      • this past summer “with today’s renewables and storage technology, the cheapest most stable option is 95% of the grid”

      Your concern may be technically and historically valid but is rapidly disappearing

      • youmaynotknow@lemmy.zipEnglish
        1·
        2 hours ago

        That’s about right. I have product tío and storage at a 115% of my consumption, which translates to actually using some grid because the sun is not always out (although you would think it is where I live, lol). That allows me to finish the year with an excess credit of about 200 dollars with the electric company, but I still use some of the grid during hurricane season and very rainy periods of 3 or more days, which rarely happens.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      2·
      11 hours ago

      however what then when there’s no sun out or it’s cloudy?

      You’re not going to believe this, but solar panels will still work even when the light is reflected or partially blocked by clouds. Rain actually helps to keep your panels operating efficiently by washing away any dust or dirt. If you live in an area with a strong net metering policy, excess energy generated by your panels during sunny hours will offset energy that you use at night and other times when your system isn’t operating at full capacity.

      • jof@lemmy.worldEnglish
        03·
        10 hours ago

        That’s crazy. I never would’ve guessed. Did you also know solar panels have a theoretical limit of 33%, which is diminished even more when sunlight is further blocked? Wow! That means they’re horribly inefficient and even more so when less light comes in! Who knew! So really we’re talking about pennies on the dollar at the end of the day when something like supplying a grid at a larger level would mean nuclear.

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
          3·
          10 hours ago

          Did you also know solar panels have a theoretical limit of 33%

          Did you know fractions are predicated on a base value?

          So really we’re talking about pennies on the dollar at the end of the day

          That’s definitely an aphorism.