A fine article. I can tell you an Australian story. Australia used to have 5 local manufacturers when we had 20% tarrifs on imports and 50% on luxury cars. We made some very nice cars, some were rebadged and sold overseas. Australia probably believes in free trade more than any other, and decided, after destroying its home appliance and textile industries by doing the same, to reduce those tarriffs. Because the quality of our cars should stand on its own, right?
As the tarriffs went from 20, 15,10, 5 and zero- each of those factories closed and suddenly korean cars took off and also known brands but made in Thailand.

I went overseas for many years and I came back to Australia to find, now, Chinese cars everywhere. I mean, ten years ago you wouldn't be seen dead in a Chinese car. Well, in fact, you wouldn't eveb be able to find a Chinese car to buy anyway.

Probably the most successful is MG. Because of its British heritage, that was an easier hurdle for people. But what really attracted the people was the price and feature list. Bang for your buck. The base model MG in basic form is at a price I didn't even know you could build a car for.

But more recently, people have abandoned all brand loyalties to snap up Chinese cars and EVs are a big part of that mix. Australia has much more expensive petrol prices than the US, the only issue is range anxiety but this is quickly disappearing. In my own state, a significant portion of rooftops have solar, and those who were the first to sign up to the government deal actually make money monthly from their solar- so charging an EV is completely free. Later adopters earn less per kWh from feeding back to the grid and now people basically break even with little or no electricity costs. Ideal customers for EVs. And the 7 year+ warranties offered on Chinese models is attractive too.

The hybrid market is massive too but will soon lose its tax concession for personal and company leasing. This is $6000 credit for EVs under $85,000.

We have the Toyota style Hybrids everywhere which have great fuel efficiency and range anxiety is nothing to ever worry about. Then you have hybrids like some of the MG models and Mitsubishi that can run for 60km or so on battery before the engine kicks in. These are ideal commuting cars if you plug in each night. No fuel costs for daily driving in the city but also allow you to go on those longer road trips without range issues. Like many Australians, my next car will be at least a Hybrid, but there is every chance I will go with a full EV.