Thursday 18 May 2023

Ford to cut Chinese investments with ‘no guarantee’ of winning in the market

Ford has revealed it plans to pull back on its investment in the Chinese market, believing it is unlikely to compete with domestic electric vehicle (EV) makers.

“If you just reinvest in a new cycle of EVs in China, there is no guarantee, or no data, that would suggest the western companies win,” CEO Jim Farley said.

He stated that traditional car manufacturers that have made their name from petrol and diesel vehicles are the ones that can’t compete with EV specialists.

“It’s actually all the EV brands like BYD and Tesla, Great Wall, SAIC and Changan, who are winning,” he added.

Ford will now focus on China as a market to learn more about battery technology, the Chief insisted.

“We have been for the last couple of years, really looking carefully at our China business – and now we have made up our mind where our strategy is going to be. It will be a much lower investment, more focused investment.”

This differs to the approach taken by Volkswagen, which has set sights on increasing investment in China to catch up with competitors.

Since 2016, the company’s market share in China has halved, despite owning eight manufacturing plants.