Ford's CEO urges caution on Chinese automakers, says Europe is 'too late'

MicroWave@lemmy.world · 13 hours

Ford CEO Jim Farley said that the US must carefully weigh how and whether Chinese automakers should enter the American market, and pointed to Europe as a cautionary tale.

Farley ‌said at an Automotive News conference on Tuesday that the US must “be extremely careful around how the Chinese OEMs come to our country,” and cited the pressure on Europe’s auto industry as Chinese imports quickly grab market share there.

For European countries, “it’s too late,” he said.

Farley said Ford will ⁠partner with Chinese companies when the situation is capital-efficient and in areas where the automaker lacks expertise. Ford, for example, partners with Chinese battery maker CATL to make lower-cost batteries at a Michigan plant.

Arancello@aussie.zone · 6 hours

meanwhile trump pays billions of taxpayer dollars to cancel solar and windfarm projects so his citizens can pay for the highest diesel prices ever that he caused.

Tiral@lemmy.world · 3 hours

Yeah, I’m not sure that’s how cancelling protects work. Have a source for that claim or are you just pulling it from your ass?

I despise Trump, but the only thing worse is people who just make shit up.

Bustedknuckles@lemmy.world · 3 hours

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/new-york-and-california-sue-to-block-trumps-plans-to-cancel-offshore-wind-projects

I’d also point out that Trump also just makes shit up

partial_accumen@lemmy.world · 9 hours

Ford also ended production of their entire line of cars with the exception of the Mustang in 2022 and only makes trucks and SUVs now. They say its because those don’t generate enough profit.

If Ford won’t serve the market segment, they shouldn’t have any say if another company can do so or not. The reason Ford is fighting is because this is the exact pattern that Japanese car makers used in the early 70s during the … wait for it… oil crisis. Nissan (Datsun), Honda, and Toyota all started with small economy cars and all are recognizable brands demanding large market shares of the American auto market. The irony is that these Japanese auto companies probably employ more Americans making cars than the “American” auto makers which have shifted production to other nations like Mexico, Canada, and China.

If Ford won’t produce what Americans want to buy, I’m okay with letting Chinese companies take a shot at it here in the USA.

SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 6 hours

They say its because those don’t generate enough profit.

…because they put a shitty Getrag transmission in them with a 100% failure rate.

Idiots will pay >$75000 for a pickup truck, with the finest technology of 1971.

hume_lemmy@lemmy.ca · 3 hours

Don’t forget that this is the same company that developed a rust protection method and then refused to use it on its own vehicles because the capital outlay wouldn’t make shareholders happy.

… And then developed a reputation for rusting that nearly killed the company.

Gerudo@lemmy.zip · 11 hours

If you are so scared of competition, than fucking be competitive.

SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 9 hours

To be fair: he can’t. China got it’s shit together around EV batteries and the entire supply chain.

Biden funded “battery valley” in the US with $3B but as soon as Trump got elected, it ended. So while one country has a national strategy and competent government, the other funds and retracts in fits and starts. Ford EVs were massively overpriced, so no one bought them, then they could say no one buys EVs. Detroit has been trying to kill EVs since the EV-1 in 1996-99, when they were horrified to learn nothing wears out and EV practical lives could vastly exceed ICE without billions in parts sales.

arak@lemmy.today · 8 hours

Strange how companies always say no to regulations and demand a free market until a better company starts taking all their customers, then they demand governments to do something against the competitors

frongt@lemmy.zip · 10 hours

They can’t/won’t. China subsidizes their manufacturing. The US bails out car manufacturers and Ford lays off workers and the CEO makes a record paycheck.

Talcosis@lemmy.zip · 5 hours

US subsidizes Ford’s ~~manufacturing~~ stock buyback program as well

SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 9 hours

China subsidizes their manufacturing.

BYD was founded on Warren Buffet $$.

Detroit has received $85B in Federal loans, bailouts and subsidies since 2008, while Chinese subsidies are rumored at $8B.

BYD CEO makes between $800K-$1.1M a year.

Jim Farley made $27.5M last year. “There’s yer problem right there, lady”

SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 9 hours

How can you do that when you fired engineers and replaced with AI?

hume_lemmy@lemmy.ca · 3 hours

“Why is the front wheel on the hood?”

FuglyDuck@lemmy.world · 13 hours

If American car makers want us to buy American cars…. Maybe they should stop making shitty cars.

Bustedknuckles@lemmy.world · 12 hours

They would need a new, less-profitable business model. In seriousness, it is almost too late. If Chinese and American governments stopped all trade barriers and subsidies, I bet American car companies get blown out of the water.

They had the advantage for a time and squandered it - now would be playing catch up

FuglyDuck@lemmy.world · 6 hours

I bet it wouldn’t be quite as competitive if china also stopped the subsidies. Maybe it with American cars, those are dogshit, but euro and other Asian cars.

Neither America nor China are particularly saintly when it comes to fair trade practices.

bitteroldcoot@piefed.social · 12 hours

It’s like the 70’s fuel crisis all over again.

Small high volume cheap cars aren’t profitable if the ceo makes $27,519,558 a year.

SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 6 hours

…while Fords now have plastic oil pans.

Same with AUDI. Many models.

yesman@lemmy.world · 11 hours

Competition from Japanese car manufacturers was the best thing that ever happened to American car buyers. Even if you’ve never owned a foreign car, the domestic car you drove was better because of it.

SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 9 hours

How, American cars are still as shit as they ever were.

Greyghoster@aussie.zone · 4 hours

Is the issue really that they would’ve been a lot worse without the competition? That’s my recollection of how it went in Australia before we phased out building cars.

Zedstrian@sopuli.xyz · 12 hours

What’s too late are these outdated car companies failing to invest sufficient resources into electric car R&D.

hume_lemmy@lemmy.ca · 3 hours

They’ve tried absolutely nothing and they’re all out of ideas!

ThrowawayOnLemmy@lemmy.world · 13 hours

Fuck off, Ford. Your company did this to itself. You could change course at literally any time.

Zeniv · 12 hours

the rules to this “Capitalist” Free Market are very confusing. If I didn’t know better, I would think they just set whatever ideological standard best benefits them in the moment.

CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.de · 12 hours

It is too late.

Your leadership failed to show innovation that would adequately meet the challenge of Chinese imports.

You should have been fired years ago.

unreliable@discuss.tchncs.de · 13 hours

Bye Ford! Maybe next time you could try investing in innovation instead of relying on government protection.

Ariselas@piefed.ca · 13 hours

Next bailout coming in 3, 2, 1, …

SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 9 hours

They invested in management salaries.

Jhex@lemmy.world · 13 hours

db_null@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 11 hours

China uses capitalism, it’s a critical hit.

US uses capitalism, it’s still confused and hurt itself.

Rusticus@lemmy.world · 13 hours

Free market absolutists, amirite?

Cheebus@lemmy.world · 8 hours

same party that’s cutting back regulation on everything else

We got diarrhea lettuce now, mad cow hamburger and lord knows what else thanks to the cutbacks.

But the real regulation we need is on those Chinese automobiles

smh. we’re not even really capitalists we’re just a shithole country ran by traitors and lunatics voted in by dumpster people