(The Center Square) – As Michigan dumps billions of taxpayer dollars into the factories of private electric vehicle makers, a Chinese EV maker BYD outsold Tesla in the final quarter of 2023.
The foreign automaker said it produced more than 3 million new energy vehicles in 2023 compared to Tesla’s 1.8 million.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has said the subsidies will help Michigan and the Big Three automakers create millions of affordable EVs.
“Michigan automakers are on the cutting-edge of the world’s switch to zero emission vehicles, and with today’s executive directive to transition our state-owned fleet by 2040, the State of Michigan is leading by example,” Whitmer said in a previous statement.
John Mozena, who has decades of experience in the automotive and battery industries and is the president of the Center for Economic Accountability, said that BYD might not crack the U.S. market.
“We have no idea what companies will ultimately do well in the EV marketplace, and what ones will fall behind,” Mozena wrote in an email. “That’s the fundamental flaw of government subsidies to companies – nobody really knows what the future of the automotive industry will hold.”