Is Ford's CEO planning to partner with Chinese battery manufacturers?

There’s no denying that Chinese automakers, particularly those in the EV space, have successfully broken into markets around the globe. Ford wants to get ahead of the game by utilizing advances in Chinese technology, particularly in the battery space. Ford's CEO Jim Farley is already moving forward with plans to use Chinese battery tech in order to make headway with their own vehicles.

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Chinese battery technology is a decade ahead of Western automakers

It seems roles have reversed. 20 years ago, the Chinese needed Western tech to move forward. Now, Western automakers need Chinese battery technology to remain competitive. No matter what way you cut it, Chinese batteries, particularly those from CATL, charge faster and have a longer range than those from American manufacturers. That gives them a significant advantage in both the EV and PHEV spaces.

Farley made his position on the American automotive industry and Chinese battery technology clear. In short, utilizing their technology is crucial to the survival of the American automotive industry on a global scale.

“So, the way we compete with them is to get access to their I.P. 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,” the Ford CEO told the New York Times.

That’s going to be a hard pill to swallow, especially with plenty of people still in denial that electrification is the future of the automotive industry. However, statistics don’t lie, and electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles are becoming more popular globally with each passing year.

For example, nearly half of all new vehicle sales in China are battery-electric or plug-in hybrid cars, and in Norway, more than 90% are battery-electric models.

In the United States, more than 1.3 million EVs were sold, which is a new record. The growth rate has slowed, sure, but volume continues to increase.

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Ford’s battery factory will begin operating in 2026

Thanks in part to government EV incentives, Ford opted to move its new battery factory from Mexico to Marshall, Michigan. That factory is scheduled to open in 2026 and is expected to create around 1,700 jobs.

While the BlueOval Battery Park is owned entirely by Ford, it will produce batteries based on lithium-ion phosphate (LFP) technology from Chinese battery giant CATL.

Ford has also invested $5.6 billion in its BlueOval City production facility in Stanton, Tennessee. That factory will build new EVs and batteries and offer educational programs to help prepare for the next generation of American electrification.

The 2025 model year is in full swing, and Ford’s domestic EV offerings are limited to just two vehicles, the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning. The former offers a range of 230 to 320 miles, while the latter has a 240- to 320-mile range.

CATL batteries offer much longer ranges by comparison, up to 620 miles on a single charge. That’s more than the Lucid Air Grand Touring’s 512-mile range, the longest available in the United States. The Chevrolet Silverado EV comes in second at 460 miles.

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Final thoughts

There’s no denying electrification is the future, and if left unchecked, Chinese automakers will continue to take the market by storm. Automakers have to balance their offerings between ICE, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and, most importantly, electric vehicles. With the rest of the world moving towards EVs, American manufacturers can’t afford to sit back and ignore the entire segment.

Jim Farley’s recognition that Ford will get left behind by Chinese automotive manufacturers on the global field is a breath of fresh air in an anti-EV atmosphere. While China needed Western tech to be competitive back then, it’s Western automotive manufacturers that need Chinese tech to keep their vehicles in play now. Who knows, perhaps we’ll see another reversal in 20 years.

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