(WWJ) Ford CEO Jim Farley is raising some serious concerns about Chinese brand vehicles.
“We should not let them into our country,” said Farley. “Manufacturing is the heart and soul of our country. For us to lose that to those exports would be devastating for our country.”
Farley made those comments during a Fox News appearance, where he talked about a wide range of subjects, ranging from the popularity of pickup trucks to his roots with Ford to North American Manufacturing.
After making many visits to China, Farley has often commented how good Chinese made electric vehicles are, and how American manufacturers, including Ford, need to improve in all ways to meet the global challenge.
But, in the Fox interview, he also said that government subsidies have given Chinese auto manufacturers and unfair advantage. Farley said they now have the capacity to make fifty million vehicles a year. With sales in the Chinese market running around twenty nine million a year, those Chinese brands are actively looking for export markets.
“They have enough capacity in China to cover all the manufacturing and all the vehicle sales in the United States.”
This should be a major topic of discussion in the talks to update the USMCA free trade agreement, said Farley. And, as Canada looks to import a relatively small amount of Chinese brand vehicles into its market.
“I sure hope we don’t allow them to come across the border,” said Farley.
Chinese carmakers have also been discussing building cars in Canada. President Trump has hinted that, under the right circumstances, he could welcome a Chinese carmaker building a plant in the U.S. that would employ Americans. The president is planning to travel to China next month for an important summit meeting.
This, plus the growth of Chinese vehicle sales, and possible manufacturing, in Mexico, has worried all of the U.S. carmakers. Sales of Chinese brand vehicles have greatly increased in other parts of the world, including Europe.
American carmakers, including Ford, have all made investments in China, and have joint ventures with Chinese carmakers. Ford has worked closely with China’s CATL on batteries. The Lincoln Nautilus is built in China and sold in the U.S.
The U.S. currently has 100% tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. That was enacted during the Biden administration and has continued during the Trump administration.
In addition to the sales and manufacturing concerns, Farley raised security issues about Chinese brand vehicles.
“All the vehicles have ten cameras,” said Farley. “They can collect a lot of data. There’s no way this is a fair fight.”
