Western carmakers ‘in fight for lives’ against Chinese rivals, says Ford boss | Automotive industry

The Ford boss said Western carmakers were “in a fight for our lives” against Chinese competition, as the US carmaker struck a new partnership with France’s Renault.

The two companies announced on Tuesday that they would work together on two smaller electric cars, with the first going on sale from early 2028. They will also consider producing vans together.

“We know we are fighting for our lives in our industry,” Jim Farley told reporters in Paris. “There is no better example than here in Europe.”

The rapid rise of Chinese electric car makers has put enormous pressure on their European and American competitors, who have been slower to develop battery-powered vehicles. Manufacturers such as BYD and Chery have gained market share by producing well-priced electric cars at much lower costs than Western manufacturers.

Producing smaller electric vehicles at lower cost has proven particularly tricky for European automakers, who have tended to focus their efforts on larger cars that can accommodate a bigger battery.

The two cars announced Tuesday will be based on Renault’s Ampere electric car model but will be designed by Ford and will carry the American brand. Renault had previously planned to sell shares in its Ampere unit as a separate company dedicated to electric car technology, but it abandoned that plan last year as investor interest waned.

The companies said Renault’s Douai plant in northern France would produce the vehicles. The factory manufactures the Renault 5, an electric car praised for its design and relatively low cost.

Ford has struggled in Europe in recent years. Farley announced 4,000 job cuts last year, including 800 in the UK, and cut planned production of the new Explorer and Capri electric models, citing “weak economic conditions and lower-than-expected demand for electric cars.”

Farley also criticized European electric car sales targets this week, writing in the Financial Times that the continent’s automakers were facing “the world’s most aggressive carbon obligations” alongside “a flood of state-subsidized electric vehicle imports from China.”

François Provost, CEO of Renault, said: “In the long term, combining forces with Ford will make us more innovative and more responsive in a rapidly evolving European automotive market. »

In another development, BMW announced on Tuesday the retirement of Oliver Zipse as chairman of the company’s board of directors. He will be replaced in May by Milan Nedeljković, who joined the company as an intern in 1993 and became the company’s production manager.

The Munich automaker had extended Zipse’s contract in 2023 until 2026, beyond the usual retirement age of 60. Boss of BMW since 2019, he has also had to face the rise of Chinese competition, even if the manufacturer has done better than some of its German counterparts.