Ford CEO Jim Farley has long made it clear that he considers Chinese EVs to be The Blue Oval’s chief rivals, even though such vehicles aren’t on sale in the U.S. due in part to steep tariffs imposed during the Biden administration. Regardless, Ford also sells electric vehicles in other markets where Chinese EVs are currently on sale – such as Europe and South America, to name just a couple. Turns out, Farley is so impressed by Chinese EVs that he doesn’t think Ford’s other rivals are competitive with them, either.
“The competitive reality is that the Chinese are the 700-pound gorilla in the EV industry,” Farley said in a recent appearance on The Verge‘s Decoder podcast. “There’s no real competition from Tesla, GM, or Ford with what we’ve seen from China. It is completely dominating the EV landscape globally and more and more outside of China.”
“They have 20 million units locally, and about 11 million are EV or [extended-range EVs], So half that market. We’re barely at a million vehicles here in the US. That’s one tenth of China’s volume. Europe’s only twice as big as us, so that’s maybe only one fifth. China’s successful for good reason. It has great innovation at a very low cost.”
Farley has previously commented on Chinese EVs on many occasions, calling those models “humbling” given how advanced the tech they offer is, and even going so far as to add that he doesn’t believe Ford has a future if it can’t figure out a way to catch up. Earlier this month, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe largely echoed those sentiments, saying that “what’s alarming, if you’re looking at the whole industry, is that the technology is much better. If I was an existing manufacturer, I’d get less hung up on the cost and more focused on ‘the cars are actually better.’”
A simple yet useful measurement.
Even the executive's own son was frustrated by the new pony car's encrypted ECU.
It shows a lot of promise thus far.
He apparently tuned his pickup and now needs pricey repairs.
A nifty way to conceal additional lighting sources when they aren't needed.
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Then perhaps Farley needs to go and be replaced with someone who knows how to compete. Sitting up her and complaining about China is not the way to instill confidence in the company.
Completely agree.
“Deeds, not words”, Jim…
Do your job and lead.
I also agree Farley needs to be replaced with someone who has vision and courage. He does not seem very patriotic at all either,he always gushes over Communist China.
Chinese must have promised him a leadership position in one of those Chinese companies, for the past 2 years he has not stopped praising Chinese brands, it is decadent and offensive for any Ford employee to listen to this podcast's CEO...
I feel like he keeps saying this sh!t cuz he wants our government to subsidize EV tech the same way China does. Much easier and more comfortable business model than making good decisions lol
Probably have to have a magnifying glass to find the brake pedal. I want a brake pedal I can find when I need to stop in a hurry.
Jim
Leave Ford and work for the Chinese, Since you love them soooo much. You have done a lot of damage to Ford already. More damage than Jack Nassar who was the worst CEO at Ford ever.
Right now you don’t have anything that I want. You’re making nothing but SUVs and Pickups. So I won’t go Chinese but I will go for a CAR from Japan South Korea.
Have doubts? Google Car & Driver BYD Shark.
Without the tariffs, we would likely be witnessing a take-over like the Japanese auto industry did in the 1970's.
Are Jim, Car & Driver, and all the others wrong about BYD?
Time will tell...