Ford's Jim Farley uses Europe's Chinese EV surge to argue for a slow US opening
Ford CEO Jim Farley says Europe is too late to stop Chinese carmakers, which sold one in seven Western European battery EVs in early 2026. He wants Washington to take its time before letting them sell in the US.
The Product Desk
What happened
- Ford owns 66% of a Valencia joint venture with Geely, which holds 34%, and from 2028 the plant will build four electric models, two of them Geely SUVs.
- In a letter last month, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Ford's Geely venture helps strategic adversaries secure a vital foothold in Western markets.
- A bipartisan Senate bill to ban sales by any automaker more than 15% owned by a Chinese entity has near-unanimous support, but its vote is delayed until after the November midterms.
- The EU's draft Industrial Accelerator Act would require Chinese investors in strategic sectors to work through EU joint ventures capped at 49%, with technology transfer.
Why it matters
- What doesn't add up contradiction Farley's public plea for patience is aimed at regulators. The arrival window he gave Ford's own staff is the more useful input for a US supplier's or dealer's plan.
- What it limits constraint If the Senate bill passes as described, the one-third Chinese stake behind Ford's European plan could not be copied for a venture selling in the US, so Ford's partnership template would not carry over to its home market.
- Who's exposed exposure Ford has to defend its CATL and Geely ties to an administration that has called them a security problem in writing, while asking that same administration to keep Chinese rivals out.
- Who has to decide decision Until the Senate votes, any US company weighing a Chinese partner with a stake between the US and EU lines is betting on the outcome.
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At the Automotive News Congress in Detroit, Farley described Europe this way, as CNBC reported: "I watch what's happening in Europe right now, where that was not the case and it's really something that they have to deal with now, and it's too late," [2]. Outside counts support the market-share part of that. Dataforce had Chinese brands at 12% of the whole European car market in August, against virtually nothing in 2020 [4], and at more than 15% of electric cars in April [5]. Farley also put Chinese share in Mexico at 25%, a figure TNW said it had not seen published [23].
Watch what Ford does in the market it calls lost. Farley's stated approach is to partner with Chinese companies where Ford lacks the intellectual property and can be more capital efficient, and he named Europe and Southeast Asia [12]. Ford already has a battery partnership with CATL [18], and the Valencia venture begins operations in the first half of 2027 [7]. He says Ford will keep competing as well, with a universal electric vehicle due next year as a pickup [17]. Geely is reaching Europe without building new factories. It said in June it would close or sell redundant plants and use existing ones, and its overseas sales rose 158% in the first five months [20].
Ford's reply to Duffy was to call his demand that it cut Chinese ties a wrongheaded attempt to capture headlines [13]. The letter's wider charge was that Ford's recent decisions "paint a troubling picture of a foundational American brand actively intertwining its future with Chinese state-backed enterprises" [11].
What Farley wants from Washington is "time to be considerate" [1]. In August he told Ford employees that Chinese EVs could reach America in five to ten years [9]. Nissan's Americas chairman, Christian Meunier, estimated roughly five [10]. US rules keep Chinese EVs out in effect today [19]. President Trump told Fox News, "If China wanted to come in and open a plant to build their cars here, I'd be okay with that," as long as the plants hire Americans [15].
For a US supplier or fleet buyer, I think Valencia tells you more about what Ford expects than the Detroit speech does. Two facts sort any Chinese-linked partner: its ownership share, and where the cars will be sold. Below the Senate bill's line, a partner clears both the US and EU proposals [14][16]. Between that line and the Brussels cap, the structure would work in Europe only if the bill passes as described. Valencia sits in that middle band. Geely's stake is more than double the Senate threshold [21] and 15 points under the EU cap [22]. Above the Brussels cap, a partner fits neither proposal [14][16].
What to watch
- Whether the Senate holds its vote on the Chinese-ownership bill after the November midterms, and whether its final text treats a joint venture like Valencia as an automaker.
- Whether Brussels keeps the 49% joint-venture cap and technology-transfer requirement in the final Industrial Accelerator Act.
- Whether a Chinese automaker announces a US plant on the hire-Americans terms Trump described to Fox News.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence66
- Adoption58
- Hype gap+20
- Incentives72
- Confidence62
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
Ford CEO Jim Farley says Washington should take the "time to be considerate" before allowing Chinese automakers to sell their electric vehicles in the United States.
- [2]
"I watch what's happening in Europe right now, where that was not the case and it's really something that they have to deal with now, and it's too late," Farley said at the Automotive News Congress in Detroit, per CNBC.
- [3]
One in every seven battery EVs sold across Western European markets in the first five months of 2026 belonged to Chinese brands, according to Schmidt Automotive Research.
- [4]
Chinese brands took 12% of the whole European car market in August, against virtually nothing in 2020, according to Dataforce.
- [5]
Dataforce's April figures put Chinese brands at about 10% of all cars and more than 15% of electric ones in Europe.
- [6]
Ford owns 66% of a Valencia joint venture, with Geely on 34%, building four electric models from 2028, two of them Geely SUVs.
- [7]
Operations at the Valencia joint venture begin in the first half of 2027.
- [8]
In a letter last month, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Ford's partnership with CATL "challenges the spirit of American national and economic security and supply-chain independence policies," while the joint venture with Geely "helps strategic adversaries secure a vital foothold in Western markets."
- [9]
Farley told employees in August that Chinese EVs could reach America in five to ten years.
- [10]
Nissan's Americas chairman Christian Meunier estimated that Chinese autos would arrive in the American market in roughly five years.
- [11]
"While DOT recognizes the intense competitive pressures of the global market, the Company's recent strategic decisions paint a troubling picture of a foundational American brand actively intertwining its future with Chinese state-backed enterprises," Duffy said in the letter.
- [12]
Farley said Ford would partner with Chinese companies where it lacks the intellectual property and can be more capital efficient, naming Europe and Southeast Asia.
- [13]
Ford called Duffy's demand that it cut its Chinese ties a wrongheaded attempt to capture headlines.
- [14]
A bipartisan Senate bill seeking to ban the sale of any vehicles by an automaker with more than a 15% ownership stake from a Chinese entity is almost unanimously supported, but voting has been delayed until after the November midterm elections.
- [15]
"If China wanted to come in and open a plant to build their cars here, I'd be okay with that," Trump said in an interview with Fox News, adding he would only be okay if they hire Americans to work at the plants.
- [16]
The EU's draft Industrial Accelerator Act would require Chinese investors in strategic sectors to work through EU joint ventures capped at 49%, with technology transfer.
- [17]
Farley insists Ford will also compete, with a universal electric vehicle due next year as a pickup.
- [18]
Ford has an ongoing partnership with Chinese EV battery manufacturer CATL.
- [19]
The current regulatory environment in the United States effectively bans Chinese electric vehicles from entering the American market.
- [20]
Geely said in June it would close or sell redundant plants and use existing ones, with overseas sales up 158% in the first five months.
- [21]
Geely's 34% Valencia stake is more than double the 15% Chinese-ownership threshold in the Senate bill.
- [22]
Geely's 34% Valencia stake sits 15 percentage points under the EU draft's 49% joint-venture cap.
- [23]
Farley put Chinese market share in Mexico at 25%; The Next Web said the figure is his own and it had not seen it published.
Sources
2 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- gizmodo.comFord CEO Says Europe Is Lost To Chinese Electric Vehicles
1 article · October 1, 2026
- thenextweb.comFord’s CEO says it is too late for Europe to fend off Chinese carmakers
1 article · October 1, 2026
Topics and entities
Topics
- Chinese EV exports
- Automotive trade policy