Ford Chairman Says U.S. Isn’t Ready to Compete With China on Electric Vehicles — Where Is the U.S. Market Now?
Key takeaways
- Bill Ford Jr. said the U.S. “isn’t quite ready” to match China in EV market
- The U.S. is making big strides including a recent tie-in with Tesla, Ford and GM on Tesla’s Supercharger network
- U.S. EV revenue prediction for this year is $70 billion, whereas China is expected to generate $292 billion
When one of the top U.S. car manufacturers says the country can’t compete yet with China on EVs, people listen. The Ford co-chairman was the one to make the comments, but is China that far ahead on EVs than the rest of the world? Let’s get into the details.
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What did the Ford CEO say?
Bill Ford Jr., the co-executive chairman of Ford recently said in an interview that the U.S. “isn’t quite ready” to go toe-to-toe with China in the EV market, though he commented Ford was taking an “all hands on deck” approach.
China is already deeply embedded in the European EV market, with the Chinese-owned Volvo and MG brands, along with the popular BMW iX3 model all being produced in China. He also noted that while Chinese EVs aren’t exported to the U.S. yet, “they will come here we think at some point and we need to be ready”.
The comments from Ford weren’t exactly a vote of confidence in the U.S. electric vehicle market, but it’s undeniable that China is a heavyweight in the industry. It’s even set to become the second-biggest exporter of passenger vehicles, surpassing the U.S. and South Korea, while years of government-backed incentives for Chinese households have skyrocketed EV sales in the last decade.
The EVs market in China and the U.S.
Many moves are being made in the U.S. to ramp up EV production and sales. Ford announced earlier this year it was spending $3.5 billion on a new EV battery plant in Michigan but that it would use technology from China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology company.
In rare news, Ford and General Motors have announced they’ll be adopting rival Tesla’s EV charger design for their EV models to access the Tesla supercharger network, making the charger the de-facto standard. Investors loved the move, with Tesla gaining 40% on its share price, Ford rising by 27% and GM by 6%.
But this year in EV sales is set to belong to China. Statista predicts the most revenue for the global EV sector will be there, with over $292 billion generated in 2023. In comparison, the U.S. market will only generate $70 billion.
The bottom line
The EV market continues to expand in all directions, with the U.S. making some significant strides in developing the blossoming market. But China is way ahead in the EV game with revenue, batteries and government incentives, so Ford’s comments aren’t far off base and the U.S. has a ways to go before it’s on the same level.
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