According to foreign media reports on February 8, Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley said that China has been ahead of the United States in the field of electric vehicle battery technology for several years. If Ford Motor wants to compete with Chinese automakers in the global competition, it must obtain Chinese knowledge by acquiring Chinese knowledge. Property rights (IP) and integrate the United States’ innovation capabilities to achieve strategic breakthroughs. This statement reveals the complex competitive and cooperative relationship between China and the United States in the competition for the new energy industry.
Jim Farley said bluntly: “China’s advantage in battery manufacturing is overwhelming, and the only way we can compete with them is to get their IP like they needed our technology 20 years ago.” He further emphasized that Ford Motor It will combine the innovation capabilities, scale advantages and customer insights of the United States to transform China’s technology into global competitiveness. “This is not only a technology competition, but also a key battle for the survival of the US industrial economy.”
Currently, China controls 83% of the world’s lithium-ion battery production capacity, and companies such as CATL and BYD dominate the field of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. Jim Farley revealed that Ford Motor’s BlueOval battery park being built in Michigan, USA will be put into production in 2026, and its core LFP technology is coming from CATL’s authorization. According to the agreement, Ford Motor has wholly owned the factory, while CATL provides technical support and operational services. This model not only meets the subsidy requirements of the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), but also evades the review risks of direct investment by Chinese companies.
It is worth noting that the commercialization process of LFP technology reflects a dramatic turning point in the Sino-US industrial game. The technology was first developed by scientists at the University of Texas in the United States and was later introduced to the market by the local American startup A123 Systems. However, due to insufficient demand for electric vehicles in the early stage, the company went bankrupt, and its patent was eventually acquired by China’s largest auto parts company at the time. Today, LFP batteries occupy a large market share in the fields of mid- and low-end electric vehicles and commercial vehicles with their advantages of high safety and low cost.
Industry experts pointed out that the cooperation between Ford Motor Company and CATL has created a new model of “technology authorization to replace direct investment”, which not only meets geopolitical sensitivity, but also achieves key technology transfer. However, this cooperation still faces doubts from some American politicians. In 2023, Ford reduced its investment in the battery factory due to political pressure, but ultimately chose to continue to advance.
With the BlueOval battery factory going into production in 2026, Ford plans to add 35 gigawatt-hours of production per year to power 400,000 electric vehicles. This technology game across the Pacific may reshape the global automobile industry landscape.
At the same time, facing the rise of China’s affordable electric vehicles, Ford is accelerating the development of entry-level models with prices below $30,000, and plans to directly confront Chinese brands in markets such as Asia and Europe. Although the U.S. tariffs on Chinese-made cars temporarily protect Ford from threats from Chinese brands, it also increases the cost of shipment of models such as Lincoln Navigator, made in China, to U.S. dealers.