The article seems to conflate two separate questions: did Chinese commercial firms sell Iran a capable imaging satellite/access (clearly yes), and did the Chinese state knowingly facilitate a military transaction with a sanctioned country (plausible, but the evidence here is circumstantial, executive CVs and BRI membership aren't a smoking gun). The framing does a lot of work to bridge that gap and doesn't sit entirely comfortably with me.
1990 comparison is too mild, if anything. Back then, the Hormuz never actually closed. Today's complete halt of oil flows through that bottleneck is completely unprecedented. "We have not seen anything like this in pretty much the history of the Strait of Hormuz" - so sayeth Rystad Energy's chief economist).
Just a bit of cursory research provides some evidence counter to your confident assertions. It's fine if you don't like EVs or like the idea of them becoming popular, but it's worth doing a little reading first.
- In the US in 2025, 35% of vehicle shoppers say they are at least "somewhat likely" to consider purchasing an EV, with 24% saying they are "very likely" to do so. [1]
- Among younger consumers, more than two-thirds of Gen Z (72%) and Millennials (70%) say they would consider purchasing an EV. [2]
- In Germany, EV purchase intent rose 8 percentage points in a single year, with 30% of consumers planning a fully electric vehicle as their next car, which is the highest BEV intent of any surveyed European country. [3]
- The median range of new EVs hit a record high of 283 miles per charge for the 2024 model year, more than four times higher than in 2011. [4]
- The average EV range in 2025 has increased a further 4% over 2024, now reaching 293 miles, while fast charging speeds have improved 7% over the 2024 model year. [5]
- DC fast chargers can bring an EV battery to 80% charge in as little as 20 minutes. [6]
- In 2025, battery electric cars reached a historic 19% share of all new car registrations across Europe - the highest annual share ever recorded - with total volumes up around 31% compared to 2024. [7]
- Germany and France reached a combined battery electric and plug-in hybrid market share of 30% and 27%, respectively, while Italy and Spain are catching up at 12% and 20%, respectively. [7]
- Several smaller EU markets are already well ahead of the European average, including Belgium at 34%, Luxembourg at 27%, and Portugal at 23% BEV market share in 2025. [8]
- Europe's public charging network surpassed 1 million charge points in 2024 - a 35% growth in a single year with fast chargers now available every 50 km on over 75% of European highways. [9]
I own both an EV and a gasoline car, and feel there are upsides and downsides to both.
The Skoda Enyaq (VRS model specifically) is the best EV I've driven/travelled in by quite some margin. Exceptionally good. I mention it because VAG group.
The whole story of Skoda is interesting because they were bought by Volkswagen as "budget" brand but kept their own development department. They get consistently pushed down as the cars shouldn't compete with VW but they do. It's not surprising they were able to adjust to EVs better than VW. If anything VW should learn something from their own Skoda but from what i've heard the VW deparments got very comfy and quite old (not in a good way).
By nearly every subjective measure I can think of: comfort, cabin finish, general external aesthetics, performance, driving enjoyment, infotainment, range, etc. Your mileage may vary, of course. Pun somewhat intended.
reply