The web page edition of Wedge, a magazine owned by JR (Japan Railway Corporation) Tokai Group, published an article by Yamazaki, chief researcher of Japan's "Intelligence and Security Research Institute", saying that China's electric vehicles have a strong momentum in Japan and have entered the Japanese public transportation and logistics industry with crushing price advantages. On the other hand, the article also declares that this momentum may lead to "Japanese people's lives (information) being 'stripped' by China (at a glance)", and the Japanese should not be indifferent to this, and urge the Japanese government to respond.
Screenshot of the Wedge web article
At the end of last year, there was a "shocking" news that four Chinese BYD-made electric buses were running on the Keihan bus line in Kyoto City. The article said that the reason why Keihan Bus chose to use Chinese-made electric buses is its "crushing price advantage". Electric buses made in Japan cost as much as 70 million yen (about 3.9 million yuan), while BYD produces about 19.5 million yen (about 1.08 million yuan), "completely incomparable." BYD plans to sell 4,000 electric buses to Japan by 2030.
The article also said that in addition to public transportation, Chinese-made electric vehicles have also entered the Japanese logistics industry. As a delivery vehicle, The Sagawa Express, a leading Japanese logistics company, plans to introduce 7,200 electric vehicles from China's Guangxi Automobile Group, while SBS Holdings, the parent company of "Same Day Delivery", plans to replace 2,000 vehicles with the electric trucks of China's Dongfeng Motor Group in the next five years. In addition, Chinese electric vehicles are also trying to enter the Japanese civilian car market, even with subsidies from the Japanese government, Nissan and Mitsubishi electric vehicles are priced at about 2 million yen (about 110,000 yuan), while the "Hongguang MINI" of China's Shanghai GM-Wuling Motors is only priced at 28,800 yuan, or 460,000 yen.
Bydy electric buses that broke into Japan with crushing price advantages, the Wedge article with pictures
However, the article then turned sharply, speculating that the strong momentum of China's electric vehicles was due to the large subsidies of Chinese officials, "may be a strategy." The article said that "data reflecting the economic situation such as traffic flow and logistics information" is also regarded as "important data" in China, and then added, for example, that "GDP data can be inferred from the operation of buses and logistics." The article also declared: "China understands exactly the importance of car trip data and prohibits the use of data from China." On the other hand, China is referring to a large exporter of electric vehicles, and may want to grasp the trip data to 'nationalize' the importing country. The article also urges the Japanese government to follow China's lead and introduce laws prohibiting the transfer of travel data abroad.
Wedge's article pointing to China has sparked a heated discussion on the Japanese Internet, and some netizens have followed the article to argue that China's electric vehicles can enter Japan thanks to the "backstage", but some people have commented that Chinese electric vehicles "have a good riding experience, no noise and no great reaction when changing gears." Regarding the reasons why Japanese-made electric vehicles are not competitive, he also said: "(The price of China) 19.5 million yen is definitely not cheap, but 70 million yen is too expensive, electric vehicles do not have engines and do not need complex transmissions, should not be expensive..... Japanese companies are looking for 100-point quality, but the current market demand is to manufacture 80-point quality products at low prices. ”
Another person said: "Japan's technology is the first in the world, and the quality of Chinese production is worse than 40 years ago, and there are many people who do not have a sense of crisis at all." Technology and life are progressing around the world, and only Japan's time has not moved forward. ”
Others say, "This is the end of Japan's not yet departing from the old 'craftsman spirit'." ”
On the other hand, some netizens echoed the article's claim that "China may obtain Japanese information through electric vehicles", but some people sarcastically said: "Even vigilance is meaningless in this degree of matter." [If China does get the information] China will lament 'a self-absorbed state that has been squeezed by the United States, has lost its competitiveness, and cannot even be a well-being country.' It's pathetic. ’..... If China is seen as a threat, it should accept the reality that no matter how hard it struggles, it will not win China, and the answer to this should not follow the United States. ”
Some people have also noticed that this is not the first time that japanese expert media have clamored for "China stealing intelligence", and some people have ridiculed: "The situation of clamoring that 'intelligence has been stolen by China' is exactly the same as when smartphones (China broke into Japan)." ”