If you were looking for yet another sign American carmakers are way behind on electric cars, here's a big one. Ford CEO Jim Farley admitted he's been driving a Chinese-made Xiaomi SU7 for months, and he doesn't want to stop.
"I've had two trips to China the last two years that were literally epiphanies," Farley told the Everything Electric Show in an interview published to YouTube Monday. "The last one was about the Xiaomi product. In the west, our cell phone companies don't have car [divisions]. But in China, both Huawei and Xiaomi, the two biggest cell phone companies, are inside of every vehicle that is made."
Xiaomi, one of China's biggest smartphone and e-scooter producers, revealed its first passenger car, the SU7, in late 2023. It was met with huge demand, selling out of its entire 2024 production run in 24 hours. Currently, the car has a six-month waiting list.
"[Xiaomi] is an industry juggernaut and a consumer brand that is much stronger than [most] car companies," Farley added. "I don't like talking about the competition so much, but I drive a Xiaomi. We flew one from Shanghai to Chicago and I've been driving it for six months now, and I don't want to give it up."
Following the remarks, Farley published a statement to X (formerly Twitter) explaining the reason behind why he's been driving the Xiaomi so much.
I try to drive everything we compete against. Have done it my whole career. Specs can tell part of a story, but you’ve got to get behind the wheel to truly understand and beat the competition.
— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) October 23, 2024
Farley's praises come at a time when Western automakers are severely lagging behind on technical development for EVs. Our sister site InsideEVs visited Shanghai earlier this year, discovering Chinese brands are years ahead of manufacturers located in the US and Europe with regards to price, battery tech, software integration, charging, and range.
Americans can't experience any of these advancements, of course, because of massive tariffs levied on Chinese auto imports. The fear is that without these tariffs, Chinese automakers would eviscerate western carmakers overnight with superior products offered at lower prices, tanking the entire industry.
Back in September, Farley called Chinese manufacturers an "existential threat." His love for the SU7 suggests that theory is spot on. If this isn't a signal Western carmakers need to catch up fast, we don't know what is.
