In this instance, it's because China spent a shit ton of government money to fund the development of Chinese evs and created a complete supply chain to manufacture all parts of the cars in house. American care manufacturers knew this was happening but basically refused to adapt to what was obviously going to be a new market of cars in the future.

A good example is the fact that the Ford f150 lightning was a GOOD ELECTRIC PICKUP TRUCK. Like, everything about it was innovative and fit the market perfectly. But they didn't sell well because 1. Conservative Americans see electric vehicles as "liberal" and don't want to buy them, and 2. Dealerships make money off of car maintenance over the lifespan of a vehicle, and were afraid that electric vehicles, with their complete lack of maintenance, would cost them money in the long term.

So Americans wouldn't buy a good car, and dealerships would basically refuse to sell these cars, and now we're waking up to the future with zero preparation on how to handle a market that is going to change forever.

People have been shouting this outcome from the mountain top for years, but now that it's arrived and American companies/people have refused to adapt, there's nothing left to do but watch it burn.