Automotive veteran and Ford executive chairman Bill Ford recently admitted that China has a lead against the United States when it comes to electric vehicle production. Considering the present state of the EV sector, the US is likely not ready to compete against China in electric car production, Ford noted.
The executive shared his thoughts during a segment with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria. Ford noted that Chinese EV makers developed very quickly, and they scaled rapidly as well. The veteran also noted that Ford has to be ready when competition from China arrives.
“They developed very quickly, and they developed them in large scale. And now they’re exporting them. They’re not here but they’ll come here we think, at some point, we need to be ready, and we’re getting ready,” the executive later noted, as per Reuters.
China has earned the respect of veterans in the auto sector. Last month alone, Ford CEO Jim Farley stated that he sees Chinese EV makers as Ford’s main rivals in the segment. He also noted that Ford would need a unique brand or lower costs to beat the competition from China.
“I think we see the Chinese as the main competitor, not GM or Toyota. The Chinese are going to be the powerhouse,” Farley said.
Chinese EV makers have emerged as some of the most compelling non-Tesla electric cars in the market. These include vehicles from startups such as NIO and Xpeng, both of which have all-electric car lineups that are quite compelling. The quality of China’s electric vehicle production has been impressive as well, as highlighted by Elon Musk during a visit to Gigafactory Shanghai.
“It’s been incredibly impressive how you’ve been able to overcome so many difficulties and many challenges. It warms my heart, you know. And I tell people throughout the world — the cars we produce here are not just the most efficient in production, but the highest quality,” Musk said.
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