Chinese electric car repairs

[woodchips]

Interesting article in the January 2026 China Report magazine about the problems getting information and spare parts to service electrical vehicles, other it seems than Tesla.

How does this impact in the EU with the right of repair and other consumer legislation. Has anyone bumped up against this, any thoughts or comments.

Any electric vehicle is raf beyong my age and financial reach, so only of interest, but the mere fact that the article is published in a mainstream magazine suggests things might be happening.

Are they?

[Stray Electron]

Are they?

   I don't know. But the same situation applies to nearly all Chinese products being sold outside of China in general. There simply is no support!  No parts, no schematics, no alignment or repair instructions, no manuals, etc, etc.

   I wonder how much it cost for a foreign manufacturer to set up a distribution and sales network in a country the size of the US?  Or even a small country like England? And how much MORE it would cost them to set a decent parts, supply and repair networks and decent manuals written in real English? 

[madires]

From what I've heard it's a disaster. And several Chinese EV brands have already gone bust, with more to follow.

[mtwieg]

Interesting article in the January 2026 China Report magazine about the problems getting information and spare parts to service electrical vehicles, other it seems than Tesla.

Could you provide a link to the article, or at least copy the relevant text, so others know what you're referring to?

[woodchips]

I read the magazine on Readly, along with lots of others, not at all certain I can copy or link to it.

[dobsonr741]

The article:

[woodchips]

Thanks.

My computer skills are stuck in the DOS6.22 era, selecting and dragging only results in bafflement.

[mtwieg]

The article:

Thanks!

Overall the situation sounds similar to what I was hearing from Tesla early adopters in the US. Last time I checked, Tesla maintained an iron grip on the supply chain for parts and tools necessary to do repair and maintenance. I think in recent years Tesla has started offering certifications for third parties to do some kinds of repairs and maintenance, but it's not much.

However I don't recall hearing about anyone in the US being fined for trying to work on their car or share info on how to do so.

[mzzj]

Half of the new european/american cars made since 2021  need you to have 2000 usd programming widget with yearly subscription to even change your brake pads in your car.

[dobsonr741]

Tesla service tools are open - you just need an Ethernet cable, a Chrome extensions and a signup with at least a day use license to Tesla Toolbox ($70 or so) and you’ll see what a service technician can see, including documentation references to the diagnostic codes.

There are many YouTube videos where independent mechanics show how they resurrect salvaged Teslas, and that requires factory diagnostics.

[5U4GB]

But the same situation applies to nearly all Chinese products being sold outside of China in general. There simply is no support!  No parts, no schematics, no alignment or repair instructions, no manuals, etc, etc.

It may depend on what products you're talking about, is this Aliexpress junk from Store0177545 or name-brand stuff?  For example I use Kincony hardware around the home and they publish full circuit diagrams, source code, extensive tutorials, and have an active support forum.  Same with other vendors in a similar area, e.g. Waveshare.  For appliances, we have a whole-house dehumidifier that I wanted to control via Modbus, the importer wouldn't even talk to me so I wrote to the manufacturer (who has no business relationship with me) and they sent me full technical details on how to work with it.

[Stray Electron]

  I heard on the BBC news last night that the Chinese electric car manufacturer BYD is now the largest electric car manufacturer in the world and has out paced Tesla. They said that there are now over 1000 BYD dealers in Europe and plans to add another 1000 in the next year.

[5U4GB]

I heard on the BBC news last night that the Chinese electric car manufacturer BYD is now the largest electric car manufacturer in the world and has out paced Tesla. They said that there are now over 1000 BYD dealers in Europe and plans to add another 1000 in the next year.

They're also building their own fleet of cargo ships to move their product around.  This is what happens when a company has true long-term thinking rather than thinking about being able to report that number went up in the next earnings conference call.

[madires]

Before you praise Chinese EV manufacturers too much please check out what they are doing in China:
- airbags not deployed in crashes (which would trigger airbags in a 'foreign' car)
- cover-up crews removing brand logos and putting tarps over cars after (battery) accidents (hide your shame)
- massive amounts of EVs rotting in parking lots and meadows for pocketing subsidies
- rust just one or two years after production
- Warranty? Simply blame the customer!
- cheaping out on important and safety-relevant parts
and more.

Several YouTube channels are reporting about the Chinese EV mess for years, e.g. serpentza. And don't forget to also have a look at the economics. The profit per car is quite low. So low, it's hard to image how the manufacturers are going to repay loans. BTW, BYD has a massive debt and could be another Evergrande.

[5U4GB]

(Failures, covering up problems, quality control issues, lots of debt)

So essentially the same as Tesla then.

[Stray Electron]

 

(Failures, covering up problems, quality control issues, lots of debt)

So essentially the same as Tesla then.

       And Waymo and some other brands in the US that I could name.  I don't know if any of you that are outside of the US saw it but San Fran recently had a massive power black out and the Waymo cars stopped dead in the middle of the streets and intersections all over the city.  Not only did they not get to where they were going but they also blocked the streets so that no one else could get through.