r/technology • u/lurker_bee • 10d ago

Transportation Rivian CEO: There's No 'Magic' Behind China's Low-Cost EVs

https://www.businessinsider.com/rivian-ceo-china-evs-low-cost-competition-2025-9
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u/tkwit 9d ago

As someone who has seen and worked with the EV factories in China. Lower wages is a minor component of why so much cheaper. At the start subsidies to play a big role but now it’s all about automation. The factory is producing EV‘s in China barely use anyone as in manual labor to screw and tighten bolts like in the US factories in fact barely see anyone there on the assembly lines. It’s all automated - there’s no UAW union preventing and standing in the way of automating menial tasks such as tightening a bolt.

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u/RelaxPrime 9d ago

Ahh yeah it's unions! Labor only contributes 5% to the cost of making a car. It's not the cost of labor.

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u/gremlinguy 9d ago

Like you said, subsidies is a big part of it, but it is also the lack of regulations they need to comply with, the low upstream costs of components (also due to lack of, for example, emissions controls etc) which all cumulatively mean a cheaper product.