> Today, no U.S. transit agency still uses BYD busses, because none of them managed a service live longer than about a year.

Is that true today? https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-26/us-cities... (discussion in HN https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45386578) gives another reason: “Federal Transit Administration rules that prohibit using federal dollars to purchase buses made by Chinese companies”

I've never used BYD vehicles but I've felt this about budget vehicles. Eg. In India, a Hyundai/kia sedan will be cheaper than a Toyota or a Honda of the same class with much more features.

However, they start to break down and over a while, you can see the corners they cut.

Neither Hyundai nor Kia have a failure rate that's worse than any western or japanese manufacturers.

Source? in India Toyota is considered much more reliable vs Kia

That's been my understanding too. I do think the Korean companies have come a long way in their journeys but the cars don't have resale value and age much worse than their Japanese competitors.

The most attractive parts are the features they pack into the car for a fraction of the cost. The compromises are usually made where it's not immediately visible and for someone who changes his car in less than 5 years, I don't think it's an issue.

A lot of things are "considered" in the car fanboy circles (like german cars being considered more reliable in Europe)... and aren't true when you look at the numbers. Easy to find sources too.

Yes they do, it’s reflected in the retail and also used prices of Korean vs Japanese vehicles. Go compare any two similar Hyundai and Toyota, the Toyota will retain its value longer than the Korean cars because they’re more reliable and last longer. If what you were saying is true, the used values would be comparable, but they aren’t.

> Today, no U.S. transit agency still uses BYD busses, because none of them managed a service live longer than about a year.

This is a fascinating data point. This should be more prominent.

Anecdotally this is false though, I still see them being used in San Fransisco, in fact I rode one last month as a free shuttle. Perhaps it means of a specific weight class?

It's most likely a flat out nationalistic lie.

Tbh i have to agree with you. I tried byd and cuts corners everywhere. Look at the screen: static video instead of Tesla interactive, low screen dpi. Other small details I can’t recall.

I also don’t like Tesla, but at least they have a nicer screen. Tesla also has big gaps between their parts looking from outside.

What did you try, and when? Their current models are well presented with impressive feature sets, and IMO are spectacular bang for buck.

I’m not sure the model. Was 9 months ago. Mainly was the screen, so I’d assume they would cut other corners

Corners cut on something I don't want in the car anyway sounds great tbh.

I think it tells about the rest but that’s just me. When you look at a machinery you might look at small details how is soldered to estimate quality. Might not be accurate but it’s a signal.

Ah - that's interesting. I see there's an LA Times article from 2018 about it "Stalls, stops and breakdowns: Problems plague push for electric buses".

On the other hand they seem to be getting a lot in in London, mostly for short less busy routes far from the center. Here's some youtube shot in one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaHZufvD_C4 They do look a bit cheaply made compared to usual London busses.

On 13 routes with 16 more scheduled https://bus-routes-in-london.fandom.com/wiki/BYD_BD11#Routes...

The problems seem to be mostly the batteries running out. Maybe they've improved?

(update - went and tried one in Canary Wharf https://postimg.cc/XBJ2zXvX https://postimg.cc/D8SjQWDM - was fine really)

> [no BYD buses] managed a service live [sic] longer than about a year.

Gonna need a source for this.

That's my experience as well with Chinese designed products.

They always look OK but when you really use them is when it becomes obvious why they are cheaper. In the end I doubt the lower cost of labor is that meaningful considering the level of automation. China has been successfully stealing industries by selling lies...

China's a very big place. You can't sum up the quality of "Chinese designed products" based on your experience.

Yes this is exactly why there is the qualifier "my experience". Others may have different experiences but I would easily argue that most would side that way as well. There is a reason the Chinese crap stereotype exists. And there is also a reason most Chinese made stuff selling well in western countries are still largely designed and marketed by western companies.

Also, I have hundreds of orders for various product categories, ranging from tech/IT stuff, passing by audio equipment, kitchen tools, common household items and clothing. My experience told me that when it's considerably cheaper it's definitely going to be much worse and when it's just price competitive, there is a high level of "chance" that it's still going to have some weird flaw that will make the product not as good even if it is decently built.

At some point it is not just anecdotal evidence and a pattern, I am really curious why you would want to invalidate my experience. China is a very different country with very different set of standards and expectations; it is not something as controversial as you seem to think.

Its not that I disagree that there are crap mass produced products made in China. But there are also really high quality products created there as well. It's massive market - quality varies remarkably, which was entirely my point