Did coerced labour build your car? – [May 2025]
[…] The UK is the largest European market for Chinese cars, say analysts. One in ten cars imported is now from China. Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, has said that the Chinese market share for EVs is even higher: accounting for China-built cars, like Teslas, roughly one third of all EVs on UK roads are Chinese.
The UK government has signalled that it won’t levy tariffs on China’s EVs — as the US and EU are doing – a decision that was warmly welcomed by BYD. That means Britain has become “a safe haven market for Chinese manufacturers”, said Schmidt. The government’s energy strategy includes significant commitments on pushing EVs, which it sees as “a crucial step towards achieving the UK’s net zero target”. In early 2025, BYD urged EU lawmakers to “copy the UK”.
Last month, the chancellor Rachel Reeves said she would be happy to ride in a Chinese-made EV. But concerns over forced labour were highlighted later that month when the government said that legislation creating a new state-owned energy company would specify a slavery-free supply chain for its solar panels, largely due to concerns over Xinjiang.
“The UK is increasingly a major dumping ground for products made with forced labor,” said Chloe Cranston at Anti-Slavery International, the world’s oldest international human rights organisation. Seen a decade ago as at the forefront of legislation to tackle modern slavery, the UK’s approach is now widely seen as obsolete.
“We need new laws which hold companies accountable for failing to take meaningful steps, and which ban the import of products made with forced labour,” Cranston added […]
That’s a very important aspect that needs to be thoroughly investigated.
The same of course should apply to US products involving prison labour.
Involving labor.
Today you learned: Canadian English spells labour with a U.
Correct.
And that goes for almost everything coming from China, and not only for the UK.
That’s anything coming from anywhere, including any Western mainland. People sleeping in their cars to sell you the latest Nike.
I heard about BYD somewhere else recently. Haven’t (consciously) seen one around here yet.
100% electric?
I guess they’re much cheaper than the alternatives?
I’ve seen a few around my area in the UK. They are electric and also generally cheaper than comparable alternatives, yes. There are options that compete on price, like Renault, but it’s definitely at the cheapest end of the market
