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【text/observer network xiong chaoran】last year, the u.s.ford motorceo jim farley visited china, but the visit brought him a strong sense of "anxiety" - ford is being left behind in the electric vehicle race with chinese automakers.

"what scares ford's ceo in china?" this is the title of a long article published by the wall street journal on september 14 local time. the article said that after visiting china, farley told the company's board members that chinese car companies are moving forward at the speed of light, and the artificial intelligence and other technologies used in automobiles are completely different from existing technologies in the united states. these chinese electric car manufacturers that provide smooth digital functions are using low-cost supply chains to beat competitors on price and are actively expanding into overseas markets.

in farley's view, this is already a "survival threat". the wall street journal said that for many years,teslathis has always been a source of "anxiety" for senior executives in the automotive industry who want to transition to electric vehicles, but now with the rapid rise of chinese car companies, the united states, germany and japan are all feeling uneasy. even tesla ceo musk recently admitted that chinese automakers are the "most competitive" in the world.

in just a few years,bydchinese electric car makers such as toyota motor corp. have taken a large share of the domestic market from once-dominant foreign competitors by offering low prices, high-tech interiors and rapid vehicle updates. now, the chinese automakers are rapidly expanding into europe, the middle east and other asian markets.

in the united states, although automakers see electric vehicles as the future, the sales growth of electric vehicles has slowed down due to high prices and inconvenience in charging, which has deterred some car buyers.

the article recalls that decades ago, ford and other global automakers did not view chinese automakers as a "threat." in the 1980s, china opened its auto market to foreign companies, and many joint ventures emerged. for foreign joint venture partners, chinese local manufacturers mostly played the role of "little brothers" at that time.

then, china methodically invested in a plan to overtake global automakers by developing electric vehicles. by the early 2000s, those once-shaky chinese companies, along with hundreds of startups, had begun producing sleek, affordable electric cars. byd, in particular, sold more than 3 million pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles last year, nearly seven times as many as in 2019.

in early 2023, farley visited china for the first time after the covid-19 restrictions were lifted. he was sitting in the car of ford's long-term joint venture partnerchangan automobilechangan automobile has been a mediocre player in the chinese auto market for years, with its market share hovering around 5%.

however, this time, farley, who is passionate about racing and knows cars inside out, drove a changan car on the test track.flying, while ford chief financial officer john lawler was sitting in the passenger seat, and other executives sat quietly, stunned by changan's achievements - the driving experience is smooth and quiet, and the interior is upscale, technological and easy to use.

“jim, this is totally different,” lawler told farley after the test drive. “they’re ahead of us.”

the article introduced that soon after farley's visit to china, he arranged for some chinese electric vehicles to be shipped to michigan for the company's senior executives and directors to test drive, including cars from brands such as xiaomi and ideal. after seeing these futuristic cars equipped with powerful infotainment systems and luxurious seats, farley emphasized that "reaching chinese standards will become the most important priority."

farley, who has served as ford's ceo for four years and is a well-known "car fan", believes that no matter how well the protectionist measures are implemented, chinese electric vehicles pose a so-called "direct threat" to europe and other overseas markets, and also pose a long-term risk to ford's profit engine in north america.

the wall street journal described farley's several visits to china in the past 18 months as "humbling trips" and fruitful, which prompted him to change his electric vehicle strategy. during his visit to china, farley witnessed byd's elegant industrial design, and other chinese brands of electric vehicles also shocked him, both in terms of ride quality and high-tech configuration.

farley decided to focus ford's efforts in china on commercial vehicles rather than competing with local manufacturers in the consumer market. in addition, his team is exploring contracts with some low-cost parts suppliers that give chinese electric car manufacturers a huge advantage, and has shifted ford's strategic focus to small electric vehicles rather than large pickup trucks and suvs that require huge and expensive batteries.

in june, farley revealed that ford expects to launch a pure electric vehicle priced at $30,000 (about 218,000 yuan) that will be profitable in about two and a half years. he said that the main competitors of this new car are expected to be chinese automakers such as byd and tesla's previously announced cheap entry-level models.

in terms of the size of new cars, he said ford will focus on small electric vehicles, while large trucks and suvs will continue to be ford's profit engine in the form of fuel-powered vehicles.

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