1 HN user recommended this explainer1 month2024–2025score 1
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
HN commenters cite it as a concrete teardown-style explanation of how BYD builds a cheap EV and why Western automakers are worried.
Autoline's John McElroy and Caresoft president Terry Woychowski look at the BYD Seagull, an electric hatchback that sells in China for about $11,500. Woychowski points out the cost-saving design and manufacturing choices, and McElroy takes it for a short test drive.
“This video here describes why BYD is so competitive” (HN, 2025)
This video here describes why BYD is so competitive: They have done a splendid job vertically integrating as much as they can to get the price down. This $11,500 EV is an excellent example of how other companies should start to shift their thinking. [1]: [this video]
I've been seeing a lot of buzz around the BYD Seagull. I'm doubtful Chinese cars will be allowed in the US market at all, since a $11,500 EV with a 200+ mile range would destroy domestic sales. If Tesla ever actually releases their long rumored Model 1 with it a sub $20,000 sticker price that would sell like crazy. Car prices are insane and not everybody wants or can afford a $40,000 car to commute to work and back. [this video]
>We don’t need a thousand features in a car. Power windows, touch screens, self driving and every other tech that adds to the cost can take a bike. The BYD seagull has all this from what I understand? [1]: [this video] >I think it will be a good thing because then perhaps are home grown car manufacturers will see the writing and start offering affordable to the masses cars. With Tesla supposedly canceling Model 2, it seems like the incumbents cannot possibly offer this car at this price because of their cost structure (overhead due to unions, expensive real estate, regulations etc.)
You say that but then we see things like BYD introducing products like this. [1]: [this video] Unless you want to keep your head in the sand and pretend this is the soviet union all over again, you better start paying attention to how fast they are iterating. >China is now Soviet Union, but with horrendous demographics, mind-numbing debt, and wealth flooding out of the country. China is old and broke. China is fucked. Yeah this is the Peter Zeihan thesis but you know what, it might take a while for this to play out and in the meantime, China may not leave the arena until after they have taken out a large chunk of the western incumbents.
I don't know why the parent post is being down voted. I think it makes a solid argument about creating a car that normal people can afford. That is exactly what Chinese car companies is doing. Here's a video by Caresoft of the BYD Seagull which s apparently sub $12k. (Caresoft AFAIK do professional level car teardown reports for the auto industry) [this video] I'd love to buy something like that at that price point.
Thats true...you can only go so far with that though and thats probably why many of their industries haven't really met the par yet. But at the same time they have eclipsed the west in certain industries such as commercial nuclear. That mentality is there in their industries that havent met the par yet and that was a major point I was making in my previous comment. As far as I understand, they originally licensed the AP1000 but expanded upon the design enough that they have ownership over the new design and they use that now. [1]: [link] We also see it in BYD. The Seagull is a symphony of cost efficiency and vertical integration that western companies are now studying. [2]: [this video]
Shows Seagull's cost efficiency and vertical integration.
Video list and Hacker News comment labels from HackerTube (prompted by @karpathy), released under ODC-By 1.0, built on the open-index/hacker-news archive. Hacker News data is provided by Y Combinator; comments remain the work of their authors. Video titles, channel names and thumbnails belong to their creators and are shown via YouTube. HackerTube Watch is an unofficial edition. Data export of 2026-10-31.
Plays via YouTube's privacy-enhanced embed
6 Hacker News comments
From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.
Citations, criticism and jokes
Read more
Read more