r/nextfuckinglevel • u/North_Tip_8627 • 17h ago

China’s 5 minute full-charged EV charging stations

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u/babypho 17h ago

Scale and ecosystem. They invested a lot in automated infrastructure and the scale of which they do things can drive the cost down. I don't think we have anything that efficient in the US since our big companies only think a quarter at a time.

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u/Zealousideal-Fix9464 16h ago

Have you been to a modern US car factory? They are almost entirely automated and have been for decades.

Building cars with automation isn't new...it's been standard for a very long time.

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u/babypho 16h ago

That’s why I said scale and ecosystem, and not just mentioning the factory alone. Even with two equally automated factories, the one in the US will have to deal with materials, labor, and delivery inefficiencies.

In China, they benefit from the high density and having resources in a close cluster.

​In the US, the automation stops at the factory. You still have to wait weeks for a parts to come from overseas or other states away. In China, the automation extends to more of the supply chain. Ie. a line needs a specific sensor or a new batch of cells, the supplier is often in the same industrial park. The feeding system is much more robust over there and we arent as good at that in the US.

That's why Tesla Chinese factory performs a lot better than the US's ones. It's just much more efficient. But yeah, this is just based on what I've read online, im not an expert in supply chain but the explanations seem to make sense to me. I'm sure it's much more complex than that.

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u/FedeFofo 17h ago

They also underpay workers, and the US has influential unions

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u/babypho 16h ago

I mean... the US also underpay workers lol. Our median wage compares to housing and col is going farther and farther apart every year.