news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

there is an english phrase called "aha moment", commonly known as a sudden enlightenment.

it was coined by german psychologist and phenomenologist karl buhler about 100 years ago. people often have a sudden and profound understanding after experiencing failure or deep thinking, which is the so-called "aha moment".

jim farley, 62, global ceo of ford, the second-largest automaker in the united states, has experienced many such "aha moments" in the past 18 months.

according to the wall street journal, farley and other ford executives have made a series of visits to china over the past 18 months, during which they realized that china's electric vehicle revolution is reshaping the global auto market at a speed many people did not expect, and that chinese automakers are taking the lead in the electric vehicle competition.

a few days ago, the wall street journal published a report titled "what scared ford's ceo in china." the report detailed what farley and his capable people thought after visiting the chinese market.

“they are ahead of us.”

in early 2023, after china lifted epidemic restrictions and reopened, farley and other ford executives came to the chinese market for inspection.

this is also farley's first visit to china in the three years since he took office as ford ceo. in october 2020, farley took over ford and became the helmsman of the 120-year-old automaker. in 2021, under farley's leadership, ford proposed the global strategic ford+ plan, which is to split ford's automotive business into three major units: ford blue, ford model e and ford pro.

according to the wall street journal, farley is a racing enthusiast with extensive automotive knowledge. however, unlike his usual appearances at the racetrack, farley was test-driving a changan electric suv this time, with ford chief financial officer john lawler sitting in the passenger seat. after the test drive, lawler, who was sitting in the passenger seat, said to farley, "jim, this is different from the past. these people are ahead of us."

ford executives reportedlychangan automobilei am shocked by the progress made. this electric suv has a smooth and quiet ride, a luxurious cabin and a full sense of technology.

2023 is also ford's flagship productford electricthis is the third year that mach e has entered the chinese market. as ford's first pure electric suv model, mach e is obviously not well adapted to the chinese market. in 2023, the sales volume of mach e was only 2,062 units. during this period, mach e also experienced price cuts and model changes. so far in 2024, the cumulative sales volume of mach e is 795 units.

the wall street journal noted that the test run in early 2023 caused farley and lawler to abandon their attempt to regain ford's leadership in china, which it would use primarily to export vehicles to other markets.

in december 2023, ford china officially announced that "as of 2023, ford china's vehicle exports have officially exceeded the 100,000 mark. this is a historic breakthrough in the number of annual vehicle exports from ford china to overseas markets from the mainland market."

“meeting chinese standards is the top priority”

the wall street journal said that farley had recently returned from china, and in a call with board member john thornton, he vented his anxiety after visiting the chinese market in may.

“chinese automakers are moving at the speed of light. they are using artificial intelligence and other new technologies in their cars, and similar products simply cannot be found in the united states. these chinese electric vehicle automakers are taking advantage of efficient supply chains, providing better products at lower prices, and are rapidly occupying overseas markets.”

“in just a few years,buffettsupported chinese electric vehicle manufacturersbyd"and other domestic brands are taking a lot of market share from once-dominant foreign competitors through lower prices, smarter configurations, and rapid updates. now, they are expanding rapidly in europe, the middle east, and other asian markets."

it is reported that "soon after the inspection, farley arranged for electric vehicles from several chinese brands, including xiaomi and ideal, to be shipped to the company's headquarters in michigan, u.s., for senior executives to experience. ford insiders were shocked by the diverse functions of chinese electric vehicles."

"one of them is xiaomi's first electric car (dubbed the "civilian version" by netizens)porsche”), priced between $30,000 and $40,000, lower thanford mustangselling price.xiaomi motorsequipped with an aroma diffuser and infotainment system, its smart interconnection function can also realize the integration of cars and smart homes. through the in-car infotainment system, smart home devices can be remotely controlled, such as turning on the lights or air conditioners in the home. "

“there is also aideal autothe car's luxurious rear seats come with heated armrests and leg rests, as well as a large multimedia screen that can be controlled by gestures. ford executives likened the setup to business-class airline travel or a home theater.

the report quoted farley as saying that "meeting chinese standards is the most important priority." it also said that "farley believes that chinese electric vehicles pose a direct threat to europe and other overseas markets and pose a long-term risk to ford's profit growth in north america, no matter what trade protection measures the government takes."

when ford introduced electric vehicles in the chinese market in 2021, farley said, "in ford's future competition in china, the new high-end car market and luxury car market will be the focus of our business." after this trip, farley said that ford will focus on small electric vehicles in china, and large pickup trucks and suvs will continue to be ford's profit engine in the form of fuel vehicles.

after the epiphany

the wall street journal spent some space at the end of the article to introduce to readers what kind of person jim farley is.

"farley is not a flashy speaker or a typical ceo," the board member said. "he won't trust you until you earn his trust."

"farley doesn't believe in any market research either. he likes to observe for himself, to see what people are doing and where they spend their money."

farley is a big fan of jobs. he said his favorite photo of jobs is a photo of him squatting on the floor of his office in the 1980s, watching an employee operate a macintosh computer. before taking over ford, farley had worked attoyotahe has experience in marketing. he once spent a whole year traveling around the country to do market research for the new camry and chat with car owners in shopping mall parking lots.

over the past eighteen months, he has been doing what he has always believed in, personally observing the market and using it as an anchor to adjust the direction in which ford's big ship should sail.

the board also said that "farley's honesty sometimes offends some people." farley was once asked if he could have a superpower, he would like it to be kindness, he wants to be more kind.

but farley is just an ordinary person. however, compared with ordinary people, farley is not that ordinary. after all, there are not many people in the world who can take on the role of the helmsman. farley, who has no superpowers, only wants to solve one thing at the moment, profit. profit is his top priority.

ford's report shows that in the first quarter of this year, ford sold a total of 10,000 electric vehicles, and its operating losses soared to $1.3 billion, or an average loss of $132,000 for each electric vehicle sold, dragging down the company's overall profitability. due to continued pricing pressure and investment in the next generation of electric vehicles, farley expects ford's electric vehicle division to lose $5 billion to $5.5 billion in 2024.