U.S. companies call for joint car production with China, Ford CEO personally lobbies at the White House, Washington is hesitant and conflicted!

Bloomberg recently reported that Jim Farley, CEO of the American legacy automaker Ford, proactively went to the White House to propose a bold suggestion - to have Chinese automakers and U.S. companies jointly build cars in the United States. He promised that the U.S. side would definitely control the equity. The Chinese enterprises can provide the technology of new energy electric vehicles to the U.S., which can make a lot of money.

Currently, although Tesla is leading alone, traditional automakers such as Ford and General Motors are struggling. Ford's electric vehicle business lost billions of dollars last year, and the Model e department has almost become a "cash-burning black hole." At the same time, the Chinese electric vehicle industry is rapidly advancing. Not only is the battery cost 30% or more lower than that in the United States, but the overall manufacturing efficiency is also far ahead. Brands such as BYD, NIO, and XPeng have not yet entered the U.S. market on a large scale, but their technology and supply chain capabilities have already been noticed by Detroit.

Therefore, Ford began to seriously consider: instead of building a high-cost electric vehicle system from scratch, it would be better to introduce the mature technology and parts from Chinese partners to quickly launch competitive products. But directly importing Chinese electric vehicles? It is impossible in any case. Therefore, Farley's proposal is clever - not producing in China, but building a factory in the United States; not controlled by China, but led by Ford. This way, it can take advantage of the strengths of the Chinese supply chain while maintaining the image of "Made in America."

According to Bloomberg's disclosure, there are obvious divisions within the White House team on this issue. On one hand, some economic advisors believe this will help revitalize American manufacturing and create jobs; on the other hand, hardliners worry about technology leaks, supply chain dependence, and even "indirectly opening the door for market penetration into China."

The United States currently lacks sufficient battery capacity, and the key raw materials such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel are highly dependent on imports. China controls more than 60% of the global battery capacity and over 80% of the processing capacity of positive electrode materials. If we insist on "purely American-made," not only will the costs soar, but the delivery cycle will also undermine market competitiveness. Ford obviously realized this - rather than stubbornly resisting, it is better to cooperate pragmatically. At the moment, the White House is very hesitant. Canada has already made a choice, and now it's the turn of the United States.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1857156752802816/

Statement: The article represents the personal views of the author.