Ford’s chief executive revealed that he drives a $30,000 Chinese-made electric sedan — and got ripped by critics, who called it a “slap in the face” to employees of the Detroit-based automaker.
Farley, who has been CEO of Ford since October 2020, said he drives a Xiaomi SU7, an electric sedan that retails for $30,000 that he had specially flown in from Shanghai. Introduced in December 2023, the SU7 is the first EV sold by Xiaomi, the world’s second-largest seller of smartphones.
Farley told “The Fully Charged Podcast” that he has no plans to abandon the car.
“I don’t like talking about the competition so much, but I drive the Xiaomi,” Farley told podcast host Robert Llewellyn.
“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.”
Farley wrote on his X social media account: “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.”
Jason Isaac, who heads the American Energy Institute, took aim at Farley.
“Jim Farley’s recent admission that he drives a Chinese-made electric vehicle is a slap in the face to the thousands of hardworking employees at Ford Motor Company,” Isaac told National Review.
“At a time when Ford is receiving billions of dollars in subsidies from American taxpayers to support domestic EV production, it is deeply troubling that the company’s chief executive would choose a Chinese product over an American vehicle his own company manufactures,” he added.
The Post has sought comment from Ford.
The Xiaomi SU7 was introduced to great fanfare in China, but the vehicle is unavailable for purchase in the US because the federal government has slapped a 100% tariff on Chinese-made EVs — making them prohibitively expensive to import.
Xiaomi’s vehicle also does not meet regulatory safety standards required of all cars, while its charging specifications make it incompatible with the US system.
The Beijing-based company, which Farley referred to as “the Apple of China” and which is said to have a market capitalization of between $82 billion and $83 billion, has failed to penetrate the US market due to various restrictions placed on Chinese technology.
Farley gushed about Xiaomi, calling it an “industry juggernaut” and a “consumer brand that is much stronger than car companies.”
In 2021, the Biden administration removed Xiaomi from a government blacklist of companies feared to have ties to the Chinese military.
The Biden administration and Congress have looked to prevent American companies from investing in Chinese firms that are suspected of helping the country’s military gain a technological edge over US forces.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has stated in the past that he opposes tariffs on Chinese-made EVs — though he has also said that without trade barriers, Chinese automakers would “demolish” their global rivals.
The largest EV maker in the world is BYD, the Chinese automaker that counts Warren Buffett among its investors.
Chinese car companies were the “most competitive” and “will have significant success outside of China, depending on what kind of tariffs or trade barriers are established,” Musk told investors in January.
