Ford CEO Jim Farley said that the US must carefully weigh how and whether Chinese automakers should enter the American market, and pointed to Europe as a cautionary tale.
Farley said at an Automotive News conference on Tuesday that the US must “be extremely careful around how the Chinese OEMs come to our country,” and cited the pressure on Europe’s auto industry as Chinese imports quickly grab market share there.
For European countries, “it’s too late,” he said.
Farley said Ford will partner with Chinese companies when the situation is capital-efficient and in areas where the automaker lacks expertise. Ford, for example, partners with Chinese battery maker CATL to make lower-cost batteries at a Michigan plant.
Ford also ended production of their entire line of cars with the exception of the Mustang in 2022 and only makes trucks and SUVs now. They say its because those don’t generate enough profit.
If Ford won’t serve the market segment, they shouldn’t have any say if another company can do so or not. The reason Ford is fighting is because this is the exact pattern that Japanese car makers used in the early 70s during the … wait for it… oil crisis. Nissan (Datsun), Honda, and Toyota all started with small economy cars and all are recognizable brands demanding large market shares of the American auto market. The irony is that these Japanese auto companies probably employ more Americans making cars than the “American” auto makers which have shifted production to other nations like Mexico, Canada, and China.
If Ford won’t produce what Americans want to buy, I’m okay with letting Chinese companies take a shot at it here in the USA.
…because they put a shitty Getrag transmission in them with a 100% failure rate.
Idiots will pay >$75000 for a pickup truck, with the finest technology of 1971.
Don’t forget that this is the same company that developed a rust protection method and then refused to use it on its own vehicles because the capital outlay wouldn’t make shareholders happy.
… And then developed a reputation for rusting that nearly killed the company.