Ni Hao or LMAO? China’s EV Market Explained With Wheelsboy’s Ethan Robertson
China car expert Ethan Robertson of Wheelsboy spills all the tea about Geely, Nio, XPeng, BYD, and more.
On this episode of The InEVitable, co-host Jonny Lieberman is out of town, so it’s only me, your humble scribe, chatting with Ethan Robertson of Wheelsboy, a China-based automotive review channel. Jonny’s absence is a huge bummer, as we learn right off the bat, as Ethan opens with an ironic tale of how he randomly ran into Lieberman, years ago, in China.
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From there we talk about how Robertson made his way to China and became a leading automotive content creator on YouTube and Chinese social media platforms. As a North Carolina-raised, Shanghai-based, bilingual automotive journalist who easily code-switches for his Western and Chinese audiences, Robertson has unique insights into the rapid rise of China’s “new energy vehicle” market and whether the hype is real.
Denza, the luxury brand of BYD, and its Z Concept
The episode covers a range of current topics, including the intense competition and price war going on in China, as well as the brutal consolidation of the Chinese auto industry. We also discuss the role Tesla has played in accelerating China’s EV development and how it raised the standard for domestic manufacturers, which have since responded with vehicles that often match or exceed Tesla in features, range, and interior technology.
Xiaomi SU7, one of the most disruptive Chinese vehicles comes from a cell phone maker.
Hype vs. Reality?
I ask Robertson to identify the strongest Chinese brands and their best EV products, as well as the shifting perceptions of Chinese consumers. Do legacy Western brands—particularly German and Japanese—still resonate with Chinese buyers? Do any of the legacy automakers stand a chance in China’s market? Robertson offers up a few surprises, along with a nuanced take on what Chinese consumers value versus what automakers deliver.
Yangwang U8: China’s Hummer and G-Wagen slayer
We also discuss the other side of the coin: The likelihood of Chinese automakers entering not only the U.S. market, but Canada and Mexico as well. Although regulatory and political barriers remain, Robertson suggests it’s going to be difficult to prevent long-term entry, especially as Chinese companies expand manufacturing and sales into America’s neighbors.
For listeners seeking a clearer understanding of the current state of China’s automotive industry, the best Chinese cars on the market today, and where this is all going, this is the episode for you. Watch right here or on our YouTube channel. If audio is your thing, download the podcast here or wherever you listen to your podcasts. If you like the episode, please tell your friends, share us on social media, like the video, and don’t forget to give us a five-star review.
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I used to go kick tires with my dad at local car dealerships. I was the kid quizzing the sales guys on horsepower and 0-60 times, while Dad wandered around undisturbed. When the salesmen finally cornered him, I'd grab as much of the glossy product literature as I could carry. One that still stands out to this day: the beautiful booklet on the Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX that favorably compared it to the Porsches of the era. I would pore over the prose, pictures, specs, trim levels, even the fine print, never once thinking that I might someday be responsible for the asterisked figures "*as tested by Motor Trend magazine." My parents, immigrants from Hong Kong, worked their way from St. Louis, Missouri (where I was born) to sunny Camarillo, California, in the early 1970s. Along the way, Dad managed to get us into some interesting, iconic family vehicles, including a 1973 Super Beetle (first year of the curved windshield!), 1976 Volvo 240, the 1977 Chevrolet Caprice Classic station wagon, and 1984 VW Vanagon. Dad imbued a love of sports cars and fast sedans as well. I remember sitting on the package shelf of his 1981 Mazda RX-7, listening to him explain to my Mom - for Nth time - what made the rotary engine so special. I remember bracing myself for the laggy whoosh of his turbo diesel Mercedes-Benz 300D, and later, his '87 Porsche Turbo. We were a Toyota family in my coming-of-age years. At 15 years and 6 months, I scored 100 percent on my driving license test, behind the wheel of Mom's 1991 Toyota Previa. As a reward, I was handed the keys to my brother's 1986 Celica GT-S. Six months and three speeding tickets later, I was booted off the family insurance policy and into a 1983 Toyota 4x4 (Hilux, baby). It took me through the rest of college and most of my time at USC, where I worked for the Daily Trojan newspaper and graduated with a biology degree and business minor. Cars took a back seat during my stint as a science teacher for Teach for America. I considered a third year of teaching high school science, coaching volleyball, and helping out with the newspaper and yearbook, but after two years of telling teenagers to follow their dreams, when I wasn't following mine, I decided to pursue a career in freelance photography. After starving for 6 months, I was picked up by a tiny tuning magazine in Orange County that was covering "The Fast and the Furious" subculture years before it went mainstream. I went from photographer-for-hire to editor-in-chief in three years, and rewarded myself with a clapped-out 1989 Nissan 240SX. I subsequently picked up a 1985 Toyota Land Cruiser (FJ60) to haul parts and camera gear. Both vehicles took me to a more mainstream car magazine, where I first sipped from the firehose of press cars. Soon after, the Land Cruiser was abandoned. After a short stint there, I became editor-in-chief of the now-defunct Sport Compact Car just after turning 30. My editorial director at the time was some long-haired dude with a funny accent named Angus MacKenzie. After 18 months learning from the best, Angus asked me to join Motor Trend as senior editor. That was in 2007, and I've loved every second ever since.
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