Ford CEO Jim Farley is no stranger to China, his company has a joint venture with Changan to manufacture Blue Oval models in the nation, while he has also previously admitted to driving – and loving – the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra electric sedan.
Speaking at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado, Farley – who has previously and consistently praised Chinese carmakers – said the industry’s rise was “the most humbling thing I’ve ever seen”.
“70 per cent of all EVs in the world are made in China. They have far superior in-vehicle technology; Huawei and Xiaomi are in every car. You get in [the car], you don’t have to pair your phone, your digital identity is mirrored in the car.
“It has facial recognition so it knows who is in which seat, and which media you like.”
When asked by Walter Isaacson – author of both Elon Musk and Steve Jobs’ authorised biographies – why Ford vehicles don’t have the same technology, Farley was quick to point out the limitations faced by Western brands.
“Because Google and Apple decided not to go in the car business,” Farley said.
“Even beyond that, their [China’s] 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.
“If we lose this, we do not have a future at Ford.”
While it’s clear Farley is aware of how powerful China’s auto industry is and what that could mean for his own brand, he has previously praised some of the nation’s carmakers last year.
“I don’t like talking about the competition so much, but I drive the Xiaomi,” Farley said on the Fully Charged podcast last year.
“We flew one from Shanghai to Chicago, and I’ve been driving it for six months now, and I don’t want to give it up.”
“For a company like Ford, [the rise of China’s auto industry] has been something we’ve been watching for a while, but I’ve had two trips to China the last two years that were literally epiphanies,” Mr Farley added last year.
“The last one was about the Xiaomi product. In the West, our cell phone companies don’t have car companies. But in China, both Huawei and Xiaomi, the two biggest cell phone companies, are inside of every vehicle that is made.
“In fact, Xiaomi – you could argue [it’s] the Apple of China – they make the whole car, and now it’s one of the best-selling cars in China.
“Everyone’s talking about the [cancelled] Apple car, but the Xiaomi car now exists, it’s fantastic and they’re sold out for six months – that is an industry juggernaut and a consumer brand that is much stronger than car companies.”
According to The Wall Street Journal last year, Farley previously told Ford board member John Thorton following a visit to China that the nation’s EVs were “an existential threat”, while Ford CFO John Lawler said “Jim, this is nothing like before. These guys are ahead of us.”
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