China’s CATL is the largest EV battery manufacturer on the planet which is the major reason for the immense success of affordable Chinese EVs
Ford CEO, Jim Farley, admits that the EV battery tech of China is years ahead of the rest of the world. In order to achieve somewhat of a level footing, they need to get access to China’s IP. The Chinese carmakers have been expanding their footprint across international markets with cost-effective EVs. Their battery tech is one of the major reasons for the low cost of their products. That has certainly made the entire industry mighty competitive.
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Ford CEO Wants Access To EV Battery Tech Of China
The Blue Over chief was in a conversation with The New York Times. He mentions that China is years ahead when it comes to making EV batteries. Therefore, in order to compete and beat China globally, Ford needs access to their IP. Leveraging China’s tech is the only way to pose a stiff competition to these auto giants across the globe.
Farley said to NYT’s Thomas L. Friedman, “The way we compete with them is to get access to their IP just the way they needed ours 20 years ago, and then use our innovative ecosystem and American ingenuity and our great scale and our intimacy with the customer to beat them globally. It will be one of the most important races to save our industrial economy.“
He mentions how a couple of decades ago when China was in the initial stages of becoming the automobile leader, they used the technology available in global markets and then modified and developed them according to their market. That has made them compete against the companies they sourced the IP from back in the day. The American auto giant wants to do the same. In fact, we know that the BlueOval Battery Park is already under construction and it will be operational by next year.
This facility will belt out thousands of LFP batteries which use tech from China’s CATL. Today, CATL controls 83% of all lithium-ion battery manufacturing in the world, according to a report by Bloomberg. You might not know that it was initially a U.S. startup which the Chinese bought. Clearly, we live in a world where any technology has the potential to change the course of our history.
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Learn Electric Cars Says
At the moment, due to exorbitant tariffs on Chinese imports, carmakers like BYD are not able to sell their products in the U.S. However, the likes of Ford are already suffering from the cost-effective EVs from China in other international markets. Surviving in these markets is becoming a challenge. Hence, it will be crucial to work on this front before it’s too late. That is where the planned sub-$30,000 Ford EV could make the difference.