Ford Boss Admits Chinese Car Technology Starting to Surpass US

KatadataOTO – American automotive manufacturer, Ford, highlights how China's technological advancements are starting to become a threat to many parties.

Chinese cars are known for their capable technology and abundant features. However, they are sold at a relatively lower price than various products with similar specifications.

The head of Ford even highlighted Chinese automotive manufacturers as a more dangerous threat than Japanese manufacturers were in the past.

Therefore, US automotive brands need to prepare and continue development to compete in the global market.

Photo : Carnewschina

“They (Chinese car factories) have capable factory capacity there with enough assembly facilities to cover the North American market,” said Jim Farley, CEO of Ford, as quoted by Carscoops on Saturday (01/11).

Farley, who once used a Xiaomi SU7 as his daily vehicle, acknowledged that China's electric car technology leads on a global scale.

Previously, Farley highlighted the dominance of Japanese brands in 1980. At that time, they produced more than 11 million vehicle units, leading President Ronald Reagan to impose restrictions on Japanese exports to the US.

Now, a similar situation is happening again, but this time it's being driven by Chinese car brands.

“We are facing global competition with China, and not just in the electric car sector. If we lose, there is no future for Ford,” said Farley.

Farley added that electric cars will continue to experience growth, dominating five percent of the US market and expanding over time.

Although for the time being, there will be a slowdown due to the discontinuation of the electric car tax incentive from the US government, valued at USD 7,500 or around IDR 124.8 million.

For your information, the lineup of Chinese cars that have widely penetrated the global market includes BYD, Chery, and Changan.

Photo : KatadataOTO

Many of them are focusing on the Southeast Asian market for several reasons. For example, the availability of government incentives makes the price of four-wheeled vehicles more competitive.

In Indonesia, there are import incentives for electric cars, helping brands like BYD, Geely, and Xpeng to sell Completely Built Up (CBU) status EVs at a relatively low price.

However, starting in 2026, all incentive recipients will be required to conduct local assembly corresponding to the number of units imported.