• The CEO of Ford says he’s been driving a Chinese electric car for months, and he loves it.
This bit of news contains its share of irony, but it demonstrates one thing about Chinese electric vehicles: they're more advanced than most people can imagine.
At least, that's the opinion of Ford CEO, Jim Farley. The head of the Dearborn-based automaker recently admitted on a YouTube car channel that he’s been driving a Chinese-made Xiaomi SU7 for months, and doesn’t want to stop.
“I've had two trips to China the last two years that were literally epiphanies. The last one was about the Xiaomi product. In the west, our cell phone companies don't have car [divisions]. But in China, both Huawei and Xiaomi, the two biggest cell phone companies, are inside of every vehicle that is made."
- Ford CEO Jim Farley, on the Everything Electric Show
Xiaomi, one of China's largest manufacturers of smartphones and electric scooters, unveiled its first car, the SU7, in late 2023. Demand was high, the entire 2024 production selling out in 24 hours. Currently, buyers face a six-month wait to get their hands on one.
Farley called Xiaomi “an industry juggernaut and a consumer brand that is much stronger than [most] car companies. I don't like talking about the competition so much, but I drive a Xiaomi. We flew one from Shanghai to Chicago and I've been driving it for six months now, and I don't want to give it up."
Farley later offered further explanation in a statement posted on X:
“I try to drive everything we compete against. Have done it my whole career. Specs can tell part of a story, but you’ve got to get behind the wheel to truly understand and beat the competition.”
- Jim Farley statement on X
Jim Farley's words line up with those of experts who are saying that Chinese manufacturers are years ahead of their American and European rivals when it comes to EV battery technology, software integration, charging and range.
This is certainly one of the reasons why tariffs have been implemented on Chinese EVs in North America and Europe. In addition to their more attractive prices helped by government subsidies, there are fears that the level of technology they offer could be such draws for car buyers that Western manufacturers would be hit hard.
It remains to be seen what exactly Ford takes away from Jim Farley's experience and applies to the development of its electric vehicles.
