"Porsche Charges $134K For The Taycan, SAIC Charges $32K For Z7" - article

[Tooney]

Porsche Charges $134K For The Taycan, SAIC Charges $32K For This

SAIC's new Z7 borrows the Taycan's silhouette but asks roughly a quarter of the price, and the specs are not a joke.

• SAIC’s new Z7 starts at just $32K, undercutting Porsche’s Taycan dramatically.
• The dual-motor Z7 Ultra hits 62 mph (100km/h) in a Taycan-baiting 3.4 seconds.
• A Touring-body Z7T variant mirrors the Cross Turismo version of the Taycan.

Unveiled earlier this year as a rival to the hugely popular Xiaomi SU7, the Z7 is making its public debut at this week’s Beijing Auto Show, where SAIC has also confirmed several variants. The standard sedan keeps things simple with the Z7 name, while the wagon version goes by Z7T. Put something like this in a showroom, and it does rather leave the Taycan looking like an expensive way to buy a badge.
. . .
The base model, known as the Z7 Max, is priced from 219,800 yuan ($32,200) and offers a solid 732 km (455 miles) range. Step up to the Z7 Max+, and you get the larger 100 kWh battery, stretching range to 905 km (562 miles) while nudging the price to 249,800 yuan ($36,600). Above that sits the dual-motor Z7 Ultra, also with the 100 kWh pack, delivering 791 km (491 miles) of range from 299,800 yuan ($43,900).

Three versions of the Z7T sports wagon are also offered, also badged the Z7T Max, Z7T Max+, and Z7T Ultra. The cheapest is priced at 229,800 yuan ($33,700) with the 81 kWh battery and 712 km (442 miles) of range, while the Z7T Max+ adds the 100 kWh pack, boosting the range to 873 km (542 miles). At 259,800 yuan ($38,000), it’s still very affordable. Then there’s the Z7T Ultra, rated at 776 km (482 miles) and priced from 309,800 yuan ($45,400).

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[Flying ace]

Chinese EV manufacturers build cars at a loss. It's almost like intentional dumping. Same thing happened in smartphone world. Cheap access to capital, labor and materials.

After a third of these companies consolidate, let's see what happens.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/cleant...-price-war-not-sustainable-not-healthy/?amp=1

 

[AutoX]

I know Patent/copywrite laws are a little lax in China, but that is an exact exterior copy. They're not even trying to hide it.

 

[blame.latitude]

we can all whine and blame but this competition is coming and if the legacy automakers wont compete they will lose. The anti subsidy argument means nothing to me as all governments subsidize industries they consider important.

 

[AutoX]

we can all whine and blame but this competition is coming and if the legacy automakers wont compete they will lose. The anti subsidy argument means nothing to me as all governments subsidize industries they consider important.

And that's why there are tariffs.

 

[uniqueMR]

Never underestimate China. They know what they doing..

 

[prj]

we can all whine and blame but this competition is coming and if the legacy automakers wont compete they will lose. The anti subsidy argument means nothing to me as all governments subsidize industries they consider important.

That's why there are tariffs - to prevent a foreign entity from using price dumping to drive the local manufacturing out of business.

From the Chinese cars there are none sold in the US, and in Europe we also don't have that many, and for those we do have, the pricing is pretty much on par with domestic production, they are not massively cheap.

 

[Torv]

we can all whine and blame but this competition is coming and if the legacy automakers wont compete they will lose. The anti subsidy argument means nothing to me as all governments subsidize industries they consider important.

Agreed. China is ascendant, and its automotive industry is innovating at a pace that should alarm both Europe and the United States. Labor costs are obviously far lower, allowing Chinese manufacturers to build cars for a fraction of what it costs in the West, but cheap labor alone does not explain their advantage. Their real edge is innovation.

If Chinese companies can produce EVs with 500 miles of range, there is no technical reason American or European automakers cannot do the same. The problem is that many legacy manufacturers have been slower, are more cautious, and ultimately far less competitive.

American automakers are terrified of Chinese imports for a simple reason: genuine competition would expose how vulnerable they are. If consumers had access to a $30,000 Chinese EV — even one burdened with a 50% tariff — many US automakers would still struggle to compete because the Chinese vehicles often offer better range, more advanced technology, and faster innovation cycles.

 

[CaptainJorg]

McDonald‘s charges 8.50$ for a Big Mac, a hamburger in Malaysia is 2$.

Until SAIC actually releases the car for you to buy in the USA for 32k, it’s apples and oranges.
I guess we should be flattered that the Chinese admire the Taycan design so much, but it’s still mostly renders and the car actually looks like a Chinese plastic Taycan copy.

I don’t think most of their customers will come and trade in their Porsches for one of these.

We have Chinese brands now here in Europe, and yes the Chinese will own a substantial share of EV’s in Europe in the future, but for now the prices and reviews of the Chinese cars has been on par with the European EV’s.

 

[JackSparrow]

The price for the S7T in China is unbelievably cheap, although a quick search did not show optional equipment.
Generally the software suite is very well done ( according to very limited reviews) with ADAS that is more advanced than most anything else in the industry.
The CLTC range which is noted here is about 30% higher than an equivalent EPA rating. So the 482 mile S7Ultra is 350 or so miles EPA and real world range tends to be bit less, still thats very competitive with a Taycan from a range perspective.
It will undermine the Taycan if it was available in the West at the home market price. It looks similar, the infotainment and ADAS would work well, the interior is ok, and its about as quick, just less refined ride/handling/steering.
Assuming $40k-ish out the door, a large percentage of buyers would choose the S7-Ultra. I’m sure the 911 shaped version will be coming soon.

 

[dmorg]

Rvian CEO nailed it: nothing the chinese car industry is doing cannot be done elsewhere. its simply a matter of free money being thrown at the chinese EV makers and related industries for decades. the result is alot of industrial moblization that other govt's have not funded to nearly the same degree. china, as a fascist state, is able to do this. Top-down works for some things for some time.

Not a fan of tarifs, but in the case of chinese predation in the EV sector, they are absolutely warranted.

This chinese behavior, however, didn't work in the much more complex world of aerospace. They've essentially given up trying to field an airliner that will work for anyone other than chinese airlines who are more or less required to buy it--and Airbus and Boeing, via their own mis steps, gave china a golden oppty, but even that wasn't enough.

Happy to support democracy via my vehicle choices, and lets hope the US pulls its head out of you know where, soon.

 

[babylou66]

Your cost structure is also lower when you don't have to pay designers to create a design, rather you copy the competitor's design. It helps when much of your software cost is jailbroken. I could do this all day.

When benchmarking services do their deed on Chinese vehicles typical finding is poor design with a lot of excess cost designed in. This is also true of start up car companies like Rivian and Lucid. In this area the Chinese will likely improve alot just as Rivian and Lucid are showing with their Gen 2 vehicles.

 

[CoolDadLo]

Anything auto related with the word China gives me little reason to read. I’d never get the time back reading about what our US govt would never let happen in the auto industry. The day Chinese auto comes into US, is the day any and every current auto maker ends up going out of business, along with our economy. Gives me sorrow to worry about how much better Chinese cars are and for the cost.
I can only hope euro markets can sway auto makers to enhance and influence better batteries and prices.

 

[Gkwan]

Several things said about tariffs already : history of economics shows it can be a good tool if it is intelligently used (unlike your orange potus), ie measured to compensate the "unfair" portion of the competing country's price structure. If you plug 1000% on everything it leads to the contrary effect, ie encouraging your national manufacturing to become totally inneficient because they're too much protected.

That said, I'm starting to have a "déjà-vu" and copy/paste effect with almost each and every new Chinese EV announcement.
I was very happy to get my Xpeng G9 Perf in Jan 2025, but I would probably have regretted keeping it in 2026, it's getting a bit old to have 1 annoucement after the other making the previous one already old tech while you haven't even been able to drive it yet.
Getting all "old" to me

 

[JerryLNK]

I never considered that Porsche competed with Ford or Chevy or Hyundai or now Chinese cars like Xiaomi on price. In this line of argument, shouldn't we compare the 911 against Mazda Miata or Honda Prelude? What about Subaru? Nothing against those manufacturers or cars. But it is about what the brand represents and how that brand value is earned. For me, I got the Taycan because it was superior to Tesla in all ways important to my driving experience. Better tech with Tesla? Sure. Better driving experience? No way. Better build quality? Not even close. Price comparison between my Taycan and others? Never a consideration. If you want a Porsche, then you know why you want it.

This quote stands, Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.

I wish you all happy journeys!

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