COLUMN: When Detroit Bows to China to Survive

Ford’s CEO Drives a Xiaomi and Doesn’t Want to Give It Back

Jim Farley, Ford’s CEO, has never hidden his admiration for Chinese electric vehicles. At last year’s Aspen Ideas Festival, he described China’s technological lead in EVs and connected vehicles as “the most humbling thing I’ve ever seen.” Farley personally drives a Xiaomi SU7 imported into the United States and has said he doesn’t want to stop driving it. This fascination isn’t just anecdotal—it reveals a painful realization: Ford is behind. Way behind. Chinese automakers have developed autonomous driving technologies, connectivity systems, and batteries that surpass what Detroit has to offer. Farley knows that without partnerships with China, Ford risks becoming obsolete.

Imagine the CEO of Ford—one of America’s largest automakers—driving a Chinese car and publicly saying he doesn’t want to give it back. It’s as if the CEO of Coca-Cola were drinking Pepsi at a press conference. Except in this case, it’s worse. Because Farley isn’t doing this to provoke—he’s doing it because he knows. He knows that the Xiaomi SU7 is better than anything Ford can produce today. And that truth hurts. It hurts because it means that the American auto industry has lost the race. Not tomorrow. Right now.

Volkswagen, Stellantis, and now Ford are following the same path

Ford is not alone in this effort. Volkswagen has entered into a technology partnership with Xpeng, similar to its joint venture with Rivian in the United States. The German automaker plans to produce the majority of its vehicles manufactured in China using Xpeng’s architecture by 2030. Stellantis has acquired a significant stake in Leapmotor and holds the rights to sell its vehicles outside of China. Ford itself has already licensed LFP battery technology from CATL, the Chinese battery giant, to produce cells in the United States. These alliances are multiplying because Western automakers no longer have a choice: partner with China or disappear. The roles have reversed—twenty years ago, Chinese companies were learning from Westerners through mandatory joint ventures. Today, it is the Westerners who are begging for access to Chinese technology.

Remember when China was forced to form joint ventures with Western automakers to learn how to build cars? When General Motors and Volkswagen were the teachers and the Chinese were the obedient students? That was twenty years ago. An eternity. Today, the roles have been reversed. Completely. Western companies are lining up for access to Chinese technology. Volkswagen is begging Xpeng. Stellantis is courting Leapmotor. Ford is negotiating with Geely. The teacher has become the student. And the student? He has become the undisputed master.

Autonomous driving, connectivity, and revolutionary batteries

What Western automakers are seeking in these partnerships is the cutting-edge technology that China has developed at breakneck speed. Chinese autonomous driving systems now rival those of Tesla, and even outperform them in certain urban scenarios. Chinese connected vehicles incorporate artificial intelligence, voice recognition, and digital ecosystem features that Western automakers struggle to match. Chinese LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries have become the dominant battery chemistry by 2025, surpassing nickel batteries in terms of cost, safety, and durability. CATL, BYD, and other Chinese manufacturers control the global battery supply chain. Without access to this technology, Western automakers cannot be competitive.

China hasn’t just caught up with the West in electric vehicles. It has surpassed it—by a wide margin. While Detroit debated the profitability of EVs and hesitated to invest, China was building. While Europe was regulating and debating, China was innovating. While everyone else was talking, China was taking action. The result? Chinese batteries dominate the world. Chinese autonomous driving systems perform better. Chinese cars cost less and offer more. This isn’t luck. It’s strategy, massive investment, and a long-term vision that the West has lost somewhere between quarterly reports and shareholder dividends.

37.6% in tariffs that don’t protect anything at all

In 2024, the European Union introduced provisional tariffs of up to 37.6% on electric vehicles imported from China, citing unfair subsidies. These measures were intended to protect the European automotive industry from a “potential flood of unfairly subsidized vehicles.” But these tariffs are proving ineffective against China’s strategy. Instead of giving up on the European market, Chinese automakers are simply setting up shop in Europe. Geely is negotiating with Ford to use the Valencia plant. Leapmotor is already manufacturing in Spain through Stellantis. BYD is building plants in Hungary and Turkey. Tariffs merely shift production; they do not stop it. Worse still, they encourage Chinese manufacturers to establish a lasting presence in Europe, creating long-term dependence.

Tariffs are the weapon of the weak who think they’re strong. Europe thinks it’s protecting itself with its 37.6% tariffs on Chinese EVs. It’s deluding itself. Because China isn’t going to turn back in the face of a tariff barrier—it’s going to circumvent it, circumvent it so elegantly that you won’t even see it coming. The result? Chinese cars will be produced in Europe, in European factories, by European workers. And Europe will applaud this “job creation” without realizing that it has just surrendered control of its automotive industry. Tariffs protect nothing. They merely delay the inevitable.

National security restrictions bar China from the United States

In the United States, the situation is different but just as complex. The Biden administration has banned the use of communication technologies and services from China and other “adversarial countries” in connected vehicles sold in the United States, citing national security concerns. Tariffs and restrictions have effectively shut the U.S. market to Chinese automakers. But this closure creates a dilemma for Ford: how can it access Chinese technology without violating U.S. rules? A partnership with Geely for the U.S. market would inevitably attract the attention of Congress and the Trump administration. Lawmakers have already criticized Ford for its battery licensing agreement with CATL. Any deeper collaboration with China would be politically explosive.

America is barricading itself in. It’s erecting walls, imposing tariffs, and invoking national security. And it’s right to be concerned—Chinese connected vehicles collect data, lots of data. But here’s the problem: by barricading itself in, America is also cutting itself off from the technology it needs to remain competitive. It’s the paradox of the besieged fortress. You’re safe on the inside, but you’re starving to death while the enemy thrives on the outside. Ford knows this. Farley knows this. They know they need China. But what can you do when your own government bars you from accessing it? That’s the million-dollar question. And no one has the answer.

From the Acquisition of Volvo to Global Dominance

Geely, founded by Li Shufu, has become China’s second-largest automaker behind BYD, with more than 3 million vehicles sold in 2025—a 39% increase from the previous year. But Geely isn’t just a Chinese automaker—it’s a global conglomerate. In 2010, Geely bought Volvo from Ford for $1.8 billion, a deal that seemed risky at the time but turned out to be a masterstroke. Today, Geely also owns Polestar, Lotus, Zeekr, and Lynk & Co. The company has formed partnerships with Renault in South Korea and Brazil to produce and sell vehicles based on Geely’s technologies. This strategy of expansion through acquisitions and partnerships makes Geely a key player in the global automotive industry.

Geely is the silent shark of the automotive industry. While everyone was watching Tesla and BYD make a splash, Geely was buying, negotiating, and establishing itself. Volvo? Bought. Lotus? Bought. Polestar? Created. Zeekr? Launched. Renault? Partnership. Ford? Under negotiation. Li Shufu, Geely’s founder, doesn’t make sensational statements. He doesn’t tweet at 3 a.m. He buys. Methodically. Strategically. And now, his empire spans three continents. Geely is no longer just a Chinese automaker. It’s a global automotive empire that just happens to be based in China. An important distinction.

Partner up or go under—there is no third option

For Ford, this potential partnership with Geely isn’t just one option among many—it’s a matter of survival. The company has already fallen behind in the race for electric vehicles, with massive losses in its EV division. Chinese technologies in batteries, autonomous driving, and connected vehicles are now essential to remaining competitive. Ford has already demonstrated its willingness to work with China through its agreement with CATL. A partnership with Geely would be the logical next step. But the obstacles are numerous: political resistance in the United States, the complexity of negotiations, and technological integration. Discussions have been ongoing for months, but there’s no guarantee they’ll succeed. What is certain is that Ford can no longer afford to wait. Time is running out for Detroit.

Ford is at a crossroads. Not the kind of metaphorical crossroads that consultants in suits talk about—a real, life-or-death crossroads. To the left: an alliance with China, access to technology, survival. To the right: isolation, decline, extinction. There is no third way. No magic bullet. No going back to Detroit’s golden age. That era is over. Ford can either accept reality and adapt, or cling to its pride and die a slow death. Jim Farley has made his choice. He chose survival. Now he must convince the rest of America that it was the right choice. Good luck with that.

When Legends Become Vassals

The potential partnership between Ford and Geely is not just a business deal—it symbolizes a historic shift in the global automotive industry. Western automakers, which have dominated the sector for over a century, must now bow to Chinese technological power. Ford is negotiating the use of its own factories by a Chinese automaker. Volkswagen relies on Xpeng for its electric vehicle architecture. Stellantis is counting on Leapmotor for its EV strategy. This is no longer cooperation—it’s dependence. Discussions between Ford and Geely are ongoing, with delegations traveling between Michigan and China. No one knows if a deal will be reached. But one thing is certain: the Western automotive industry will never be the same again. The center of gravity has shifted eastward. And it won’t be coming back.

We are witnessing the end of an era. The end of the Western automotive empire. Ford, Volkswagen, Stellantis—these names that shaped the twentieth century, that built nations, that embodied the industrial power of the West—are now vassals. They negotiate, they beg, they adapt. Because they no longer have a choice. China has won the race for electric vehicles. It has won the race for batteries. It has won the race for technology. And now, it’s dictating the terms. It’s brutal. It’s humiliating. And it’s irreversible. History will remember this decade as the moment the West lost its automotive dominance. Not in a war. Not in a crash. But in negotiating rooms, where American and European CEOs had to admit that they needed China more than China needed them. Twilight has fallen. And the night will be long.

Signed, Jacques Provost