Ford CEO Jim Farley Yet Again Praises Chinese Automakers
Ford CEO Jim Farley has once again praised Chinese automakers, in particular how they manufacture EVs. One has to seriously wonder why the guy is in his position and not working for Geely or Great Wall if he thinks they do such a better job than his company.Speaking on a panel at the Aspen Ideas Festival recently, Farley admitted he's gone to China at least six or seven times in the past year to study the auto industry there. The man went on to praise Chinese automakers and how superior they are to Ford at this point.
"It's the most humbling thing I have ever seen. Seventy percent of all EVs in the world, electric vehicles, are made in China," Farley said, according to Yahoo Finance.
What really fascinates Farley is all the flashy tech gizmos incorporated into Chinese cars. "They have far superior in-vehicle technology. Huawei and Xiaomi are in every car," Farley said. "You get in, you don't have to pair your phone. Automatically, your whole digital life is mirrored in the car."
What he fails to mention is how the Chinese Communist Party tracks the movements of citizens, cutting off access to certain features based on their social credit score. Even what kind of car loan you can get, if any, is based on that system.
This sort of praise is reminiscent of American thought leaders who visited the Third Reich before the invasion of Poland and had nothing but amazement for all the 'great' things Hitler was doing for the German people.
Progress at any price does come at a steep cost.
Plus, one has to wonder if China isn't driving off a cliff with its government-mandated push into EVs. Farley obviously doesn't think so, which makes us wonder if he wishes our government were similarly authoritarian so he could offer 'superior' cars?
Image via Ford
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