Ford CEO Jim Farley has spent the past six months enthralled by a Chinese electric vehicle, dubbing it “incredible.” Following his intercontinental journey on the Xiaomi Velocity Super 7 (SU7), from Shanghai to Chicago, he’s reluctant to part with this remarkable ride.
China’s dominance in the electric vehicle (EV) market extends far beyond its sole competitor, Tesla. Farley recently sounded the alarm, characterizing Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers as an “existential menace” to the industry at large.
Ford’s CEO expressed surprise following a recent visit to China. Farley cautioned rivals that failure to keep pace with China could jeopardize a substantial portion of their revenue, potentially as high as 20-30%.
Because our company is struggling to compete with industry giants from Japan and South Korea, we must rectify this issue, said Farley at a conference in February.
Farley extols Chinese electric vehicles, describing BYD’s most affordable and reliable model, the Seagull, as “fairly rattling good.” With a price tag of under $10,000 (69,800 yuan), BYD’s Seagull has dominated China’s sales charts for several months. Chinese consumers purchased nearly 43,500 units of BYD’s Seagull fashion brand in the country last month.
Ford’s CEO secretly test-drove a Chinese-made electric vehicle for six months.
Ford’s CEO is now testing another Chinese electric vehicle. On Monday, Farley revealed that he has been piloting Xiaomi’s inaugural self-developed electric vehicle, the SU7, and confidently declared, “I don’t need to give this one up.”
While everyone’s been abuzz about Apple’s cancelled automotive venture, Xiaomi’s own electric vehicle project is rolling off the production lines right now, impressing observers with its remarkable capabilities.
Ford did not fly a Xiaomi SU7 mannequin from Shanghai to Chicago. As Ford’s CEO has reportedly driven the vehicle for six months without feeling the need to relinquish it, suggesting a strong endorsement of its quality and performance.
Xiaomi is often referred to as a “trade juggernaut,” boasting that its e-commerce platform is significantly more robust than those of major automobile companies.
The corporation sells approximately 10,000 and 20,000 units per month. “They’re offered contracts that last for six months,” Farley said during the podcast.
Following Ford’s admission that it pivoted towards developing smaller, more affordable electric vehicles (EVs), the company’s CEO subsequently noted that this strategic shift was largely driven by a recognition that “Ford’s establishment would face a formidable challenge in competing directly with BYD.”
To remain competitive, the corporation sought to build a fresh, diverse workforce from the ground up. Ford assembles a “skunkworks” team comprising experts from Tesla, Rivian, Lucid, and Apple, developing highly anticipated, eco-friendly electric vehicle platforms.
Farley emphasized that his company’s badge, in fact, is not functional within the facility, highlighting just how ambitious they aimed to be in their competition with BYD.
Despite rival Volkswagen’s MEB platform efforts, Farley noted that even they are partnering with Chinese OEMs “because they can’t do it alone”.
