Ford eyes Geely partnership

Just months after the CEO of Ford Motor Company labelled Chinese auto-makers an “existential threat” to American vehicle manufacturers, reports that Ford is now in “talks” with at least one Chinese car-maker have surfaced.

The Blue Oval brand isn’t the first – and won’t be the last – legacy car-maker to get cosy with fledgling Chinese brands.

Volkswagen has a partnership with XPeng, Toyota has a joint venture with BYD, Mazda and Changan has linked up, and the list goes on.

According to Reuters, Ford and Geely are now looking to share technology and manufacturing costs.

Citing ‘eight people with knowledge of the ongoing talks’, Geely could use Ford factory space in Europe to produce its vehicles for the European market, while the potential for shared vehicle technologies – including automated driving – is also touted.

It’s thought that Ford’s Valencia, Spain, factory would be the most likely option and could allow Geely to avoid the European Union’s 35 per cent levy on imported Chinese EVs, paired with a further 10 per cent import tax.

Ford reportedly sent a delegation to China recently to “intensify discussions”, followed by a meeting in Michigan between senior Geely and Ford execs, sources told Reuters.

The US car-maker said: “We have discussions with lots of companies all the time on a variety of topics. Sometimes they materialise, sometimes they don’t.”

According to Reuters, reports from the Financial Times that Ford had recently held similar talks with Xiaomi – which would allow the Chinese brand to manufacture EVs in the US – have since been labelled “inaccurate” by both parties.

That said, a partnership with Xiaomi seems more fitting, with Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley making no secret of his love for his very own Xiaomi SU7, telling CBS Sunday Morning, “To beat them, you have to know them” in a recent interview.

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