Ford CEO Jim Farley has been candid in discussing Tesla, revealing that the electric vehicle brand hasn’t released an updated model in recent years and admitting that more attention should be paid to Chinese EV manufacturers, such as BYD.
There has been a lot of talk about Chinese automakers taking over a majority of global market share as they expand rapidly into new markets like Mexico and Canada. A U.S. entry is prohibited, though, given the 100% tariffs and cybersecurity laws.
That means Chinese automakers cannot import their vehicles and sell them here because they would be too expensive, nor manufacture them in America. But that hasn’t deterred Farley from acknowledging Chinese manufacturers, because he knows what they are capable of.
With Ford also restructuring its EV business across markets worldwide, Chinese EVs are set to pose tough competition to vehicles produced in the U.S., leading Farley to suggest that Tesla is not a worry for him.
Why Is Tesla Not a Concern for Ford?
Tesla has not launched anything groundbreaking since the unveiling of the Cybertruck in 2019. The EV manufacturer enjoyed the early-bird phase in this segment, when the world was adamant about driving vehicles powered by internal combustion engines.
With the release of the Model 3 and Model Y in 2017 and 2020, Tesla went from a niche automaker to a mass-market leader.
However, the company has not released a new model since Cybertruck deliveries began in late 2023, while Chinese EV manufacturers have experienced unprecedented growth over the past three years. This is something that Farley has been talking about for a while now, especially after his visits to EV factories in China last year, where he was impressed by their production capacity.
Farley Says We Should All Look Out For BYD
The Ford CEO confirmed American car manufacturers should look out for BYD, a Chinese automaker that launched its first plug-in hybrid vehicle in 2008, and since then, it has come a long way, even overtaking Tesla early this year to become the world’s top seller of EVs, according to a report by the BBC.
Speaking on a recent episode of Rapid Response, Farley mocked Tesla, saying it did not need attention because of the lack of new models, and praised BYD, looking up to the brand as an EV market leader.
He said: “If you’re an American and you want us to beat the Chinese in the car business, you’re all going to want to pay attention, not necessarily to Tesla. Nothing against Tesla—they’ve been doing great—but they really don’t have an updated vehicle. The best in the business for us, cost-wise and competition-wise, supply chain, manufacturing expertise, and the IP in the vehicle, was really BYD.”
Ford To Introduce Cost-Effective Pickup Trucks?
Farley added in the podcast that Ford was inspired by BYD’s “cost competitiveness” and hinted at the launch of a low-price EV truck in the future. He said: “BYD became the most volume brand in China, not VW or the Western brands, last year.
Now, if we’re smart, we’ll take the cost competitiveness of BYD and then we’ll compete with that platform in parts of the market where we know our customers really well and this kind of next cycle of EV customers in the US that want pickups and utilities and all these different body styles, but they want it at $30,000, not $50,000 like the first inning.
They want it affordably. Yes, that is the gift that China gave us—to be fearful and respectful enough of their progress that we could not organically just phone it in. We needed to do what Americans do great sometimes, which is use innovation to compete against the best in the world.”
It seems like BYD’s cost strategy has inspired Farley quite significantly, and the result of that is going to be a pickup truck on offer that will be priced around $30,000. The only question is, when.