the Xiaomi Speed Ultra 7 (SU7) from Shanghai to Chicago, Farley doesn’t want to give it up.
Ford’s CEO was shocked after visiting China earlier this year. Farley warned rivals that if they fail to keep up with the Chinese, “then 20% to 30% of your revenue is at risk.”
“As the CEO of a company that had trouble competing with the Japanese and the South Koreans, we have to fix this problem,” Farley explained at a conference in February.
Farley praised Chinese EVs, calling BYD’s cheapest electric car, the Seagull, “pretty damn good.” Starting at under $10,000 (69,800 yuan), BYD’s Seagull has topped the sales charts in China over the past few months. BYD sold nearly 43,500 Seagull models in China last month alone.
Farley called Xiaomi an “industry juggernaut,” claiming it’s “a consumer brand that’s much stronger than car companies.”
The company sells “10,000, 20,000 a month. They’re sold out for six months,” Farley said on the podcast.
Ford’s leader later added that the company shifted to smaller, more affordable EVs after realizing “the institution of Ford would have a really tough time competing with BYD.”
The company “needed a ground-up team” to compete.
Well Farley has determined that China makes excellent EVs. Ford needed a new ground up design. So obviously Ford is at least 2 years behind the Chinese in regard to manufacturing quality EVs.
I hadn’t’t heard of the Xiaomi brand of EV. But apparently they are selling as many as they can make so they are building a new factory with 100,000/month EV unit manufacturing capacity.
I am impressed with Chinese EV manufacturers and Tesla. They design an excellent product then rapidly expand manufacturing capability cutting production cost.
Comparing these smoothly run organizations next to legacy producers-Ford & GM is embarrassing. They are flailing to meet the competition and have had to resort to a 100% tariff barrier in an effort to bar the efficient competition.
Ford & GM IC models produced are designed to last only 100,000 to 150,000 miles. Disposable transportation. Consumers learn that if one wanted a vehicle to last 300,000 miles; you bought Honda or Toyota.
Tesla EVs have proven to be durable. I’ve read many report from owners that have reached 200,000 miles with minimal battery degradation. The jury is still out for China EVs.
An interesting 2 month old CNBC 15 minute video.
“How BYD, Nio And Other Chinese EVs Compare To Tesla”
Chinese consumers like high tech EVs. Chinese EVs are cheap and have a high level of tech features. There are still kinks that are being worked out. Likely different models will be produced for different markets.
What was nice is that a driver could not only locate charging stations but also if they are in use. I don’t know if that capability is in US EVs?