According to a report by The Wall Street Journal on July 14th, Bill Ford, the current executive chairman of Ford Motor Company, and great-grandson of Henry Ford, the founder of Ford, said that the U.S. automotive industry must be prepared to face fierce competition from Chinese automakers in the domestic market. He believes that Chinese automakers will eventually enter the U.S. market.
At the Axios event held in Washington D.C., Bill Ford said, "We must confront China directly. We cannot rely on keeping them out forever; we must defeat them in their areas of expertise."
According to American media, while Bill Ford made these remarks, the U.S. Congress is advancing a bipartisan bill aimed at completely banning Chinese cars from entering the U.S. market. A committee in the Senate is expected to vote on this anti-China automotive bill on Wednesday. There is also a similar bill being considered in the House of Representatives.
Ford Motor has expressed its support for the bill. However, Bill Ford emphasized that American automakers must be prepared to handle the possibility of Chinese automakers finding a breakthrough. He revealed that Ford is preparing to launch a new all-electric pickup truck priced at $30,000, aimed at competing with Chinese automakers' affordable electric vehicles.
Bill Ford also urged that a policy component must be included in the U.S. industrial development plans to maintain the competitiveness of the United States against major automotive manufacturing centers such as China, Japan, and South Korea. He also pointed out that this policy must be resilient enough to withstand policy changes during elections.
Our decision-making cycle is longer than the political cycle. I believe that we need a policy that enjoys bipartisan support, as I said today, even if it sounds difficult to say out loud – but we truly need it.
The report indicates that Bill Ford's remarks highlight the tensions within the U.S. automotive industry towards Chinese automakers such as Dongfeng and Geely. Over the past year, these companies have significantly increased their global exports and quickly gained market share in key markets.
According to data released by the China Passenger Vehicle Market Information Association in July, in June, manufacturers of new energy passenger vehicles exported 499,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 152.7% and a month-on-month increase of 17.6%. From January to June, manufacturers of new energy passenger vehicles exported a total of 2.231 million units, a year-on-year increase of 124.3%.
