Text: Understand the original Chedi Chang Siyue
Recently, according to the Wall Street Journal, Ford CEO Jim · Farley had a strong sense of anxiety after visiting China in 2023. Farley and Ford CFO reportedly said after a test drive of the Changan Automobile: "They are ahead of us. In Farley's view, this is already an "existential threat."
On April 14 last year, Farley and his entourage visited Changan Automobile's global R&D center, and at that time, Farley said that Ford has always regarded the Chinese market as Ford's strategic focus and attaches great importance to cooperation with Changan Automobile. In the future, Ford and Changan will fully integrate the superior resources of both parties, continue to deepen cooperation, and accelerate the development of Changan Ford.
Jim · Farley visited Changan Automobile's Global R&D Center
The Wall Street Journal's report describes Farley's feelings after his trip to China last year, when he reportedly saw engineers dissect one of BYD's electric vehicles and demonstrate its elegant, low-cost engineering. While test-driving another electric car from a Chinese brand, he was struck by the quality of the car's ride and its high-tech features.
These experiences led Farley to narrow Ford's focus in China to commercial vehicles, rather than trying to compete in the consumer market with Chinese manufacturers.
It is worth noting that it was also after this trip to China that Farley redirected Ford's business, including plans to launch small electric vehicles and reform of Ford's industrial system.
In March, Farley said the team was rapidly developing an affordable electric car to compete directly with Tesla and Chinese automakers. Farley said the team, led by former Tesla engineer Alan · Clark, has a "completely different direction" from the industrial team. They are accomplishing "something that industrial teams will never be able to do," he said.
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"In the beginning, I thought, this is the predatory nature of Tesla. It turned out that this was not the case. As it turns out, we're actually all in the same situation. In order to reach this scale, we have to go to the mainstream clientele. ”
Therefore, in Farley's view, betting on a small EV platform will be key. If Chinese can produce an electric car that costs about $11,000, Ford will have to respond, he said. "The Chinese account for 10% of the European electric vehicle market. Two years ago that number was zero. So don't take anything for granted. ”
福特CEO吉姆·法利（Jim Farley）
But at the same time, Farley also said that he would not launch a small electric car too soon, "We just faced it," Farley said, "and if I can't make money in the first 12 months, I won't launch any vehicles." ”
IN JUNE THIS YEAR, ACCORDING TO FOREIGN MEDIA REPORTS, FORD HAS BEGUN TO RECRUIT ENGINEERS FROM FORMER TESLA, APPLE AND RIVIAN AS IT PREPARES TO LAUNCH THE LATEST LOWER-PRICED PURE ELECTRIC VEHICLES, AND THESE EMPLOYEES WILL FORM A NEW TEAM AND DEVELOP LOW-COST PURE ELECTRIC MODELS.
Ford electrified models
It is understood that the new team includes about 50 employees from Rivian, 20 employees from Tesla, 12 employees from Canoo, 10 employees from Lucid, several employees from Apple's dissolved Project Titan EV program, and about 100 employees from the recently acquired startup Auto Motive Power.
Whether Ford's electric vehicle business can continue to change, we will also keep an eye on it.