The dust hasn’t even settled since US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy accused Ford of cozying up to China, and more details on the matter are already starting to emerge. Duffy criticized Ford’s partnership with battery manufacturer CATL, as well as its plans to continue producing the Lincoln Nautilus in China until 2030. In response, the company issued a statement calling Duffy’s accusations “a wrongheaded attempt to capture headlines.”
But by the looks of it, the Blue Oval is indeed looking to strengthen collaborations with certain Chinese entities, even if it was quick to dismiss Secretary Duffy’s claims.
Ford Looking To Bolster Jiangling Motors Group Joint Venture
For instance, the company struck a deal with Geely in July to build cars together at Ford’s plant in Valencia, Spain, and that’s far from the full extent of its plans. So, even as Ford calls itself “the most American automaker,” it seems to have no problem teaming up with China for partnerships abroad.
As reported by Automotive News, Ford CEO Jim Farley met with Chinese government officials in Nanchang earlier this month to discuss the collaboration with Jiangling Motors Group. The meeting was announced by Jiangling via Chinese social media platform WeChat on September 2.
In it, Farley spoke of “fully leveraging each other’s strengths, staying attuned to development trends and sharing growth opportunities.” He also expressed his wish “to jointly expand into international markets,” just one day after the joint venture finished producing approximately 1,000 Ford Transit City electric vans destined for Europe. To be clear, the Jiangling partnership isn’t exactly new, having been established all the way back in 1995.
It involves vehicle manufacturing, distribution to global markets, and development of new platforms and powertrains. Among the vehicles exported through Jiangling Motors are the Ranger pickup, Transit van, and Territory crossover, to name just a handful of them. And right now, Ford’s exports resulting from its China ventures are at record highs, having reached 184,000 vehicles sent to more than 80 countries last year.
What Is Ford’s Endgame Here?
Ford CEO Jim Farley. KentuckyFord
Ford’s recent announcement of its billion-dollar investment for a painting facility in Kentucky dropped just after Secretary Duffy’s criticism. Whether the announcement was planned ahead of time, or crafted as a type of response to Duffy to showcase Ford’s investments in America is unknown. What is known, however, is that Ford is trying very hard to appease a fussy administration that shifts gears on a daily basis, while also trying to manage operations on a global scale.
So, while Ford pledges its commitment to the Trump administration back home, it clearly isn’t willing to let go of lucrative deals with Chinese partners elsewhere. The strategy might make sense from a business point of view, but things could change pretty quickly depending on geopolitical factors outside of Ford’s control.
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
Perhaps Jim Farley’s visit to China wouldn’t have been such a big deal all by itself. In the context of Sean Duffy’s recent accusations, though, it seems to take on a somewhat different (and mildly comical) undertone. The whole saga probably isn’t over, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see more exchanges between Ford and various US officials in the near future.
President Donald Trump will meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on September 24, which is very likely to influence how much pressure is being put on Ford over its connections to China moving forward. Let’s wait and see how things play out over the coming months.
Source: Automotive News
