Ford CEO Jim Farley Warns That China EV Tech Is ‘Far Superior,’ Could Kill US Automakers
Ford CEO Jim Farley is issuing a rather ominous warning about the future of the American auto industry. The Ford head warns that China’s EV technology and infrastructure make it a catastrophic threat for the Blue Oval and other US manufacturers.
In fact, he says it’s similar to how Japanese brands gained popularity in America during the 1980s. But this time, things could be a whole lot worse.
Jim Farley is issuing a grim Halloween warning: Chinese EV tech could destabilize the American auto industry
You might accuse him of being a pessimist, but Ford CEO Jim Farley is genuinely concerned about the Chinese auto industry selling cars in the US. And he says you should be, too.
“Their cost, their quality of their vehicles is far superior to what I see in the West. We are in a global competition with China, and it’s not just EVs,” he told CBS News this month. But it gets worse. Farley said, “If we lose this, we do not have a future Ford. This is a completely different level of risk for our industry.”
Jim Farley adds that short-term volatility in the EV market will lessen interest until affordable EVs come into play, like the ones China produces. “In the near term, I believe EV adoption will now only be about 5% of the US market,” Farley said in an October earnings call following the elimination of the EV federal tax incentive. “But this is going to grow, especially for affordable EV vehicles.”
Farley says the situation is like Japan in the 1980s, but ‘it’s on steroids’
In the 1980s, affordable Japanese cars drove into the American market. The result? Last year, the Toyota RAV4 outsold the seemingly unstoppable Ford F-150. And Jim Farley warns that the Chinese auto industry infrastructure could be even worse for Ford.
“Oh, I think it’s exactly the same thing, but it’s on steroids,” Farley said about the comparison to the 1980s. “They have enough capacity in China with existing factories to serve the entire North American market, [and] put us all out of business. Japan never had that,” Farley added. “So, this is a completely different level of risk for our industry.”
