Ford CEO Jim Farley has made it quite clear that he views Chinese EVs as the automaker’s biggest threat, given the fact that such models appear to be “several years” ahead of the rest of the world in regard to technology and other factors. Those same Chinese EVs are precisely what prompted Farley to create his own skunkworks team a couple of years ago, which is focused solely on creating a low-cost platform that can better compete on a global scale, too. Recently, Farley touched on one specific area that team is focused on as well – individual components.
“On the EV component side, we really have been surprised that they’re very affordable LFP batteries, that they don’t pay a margin,” Farley said during the recent Wolfe Research Auto, Auto Tech and Semiconductor Conference. “They develop them themselves. Their EV systems, inverter, motors, gearboxes, are not as efficient as they need to be. So we have extremely efficient. We bought a company called AMP, and they really helped us understand how to radically reduce the, improve the efficiency of the actual motors, gearbox, and inverters so that we can operate with a battery that’s 20 or 30 percent smaller than their Chinese competitors, even though they have a cost advantage. I think that engineering team is very focused on the future.”
As Ford Authority previously reported, The Blue Oval purchased AMP – Auto Motive Power – back in late 2023, which was an electric powertrain startup before that acquisition. It’s just one key component to Farley’s mission to better compete with Chinese EVs along with his skunkworks team, which has seemingly made a lot of inroads since its inception.
In fact, Farley recently revealed that the Ford skunkworks EV team is doing a good job of reducing complexity and added that its research and development process is more cost-efficient than the automaker’s ICE-focused operations, too, which should bode well for that particular mission.
Comments
Farley is still searching for the goose that’s going to lay the golden EV egg! Good luck, moron! Oh, how’s that $49,000 loss per EV going? Maybe you should concentrate improving the reliability of the products that actually make $$$$!
Farley drove a Chinese EV and it opened his eyes. Develop and compete with up to date products or coast along selling your tired oil burning crap until nobody wants them. We can only keep the Chinese out for so long then you’d better be ready with fresh products. EVs are equal in cost to build now, and cheaper to run.
Using more domestic parts will increase prices. The automotive market is worldwide so some parts must be imported to compete against other brands, especially Chinese.
Who told you that? What planet are you living in?
The only way to compete with the Chinese is to have workers willing to work for free.
We have the same robots, and our engineers and designers know better what Americans want.
Jim Farley continues to try to “sell” the disastrous decision to hire this Tesla “genius” who demanded a development center in hot and sunny CA and not in cold and rainy Michigan, now the fact is that after more than 3 years nothing has come of this wonderful skunkworks team
Failure Farley mentions nothing about improving quality control.