From CarScoops, December 9:
Ford asks the EU and UK to reset their strict approach to emmisions and EVs or risk becoming a "a museum of 20th-century manufacturing"
- Jim Farley wants EV rules aligned with real customer demand.
- Ford’s CEO says Europe’s EV share has stalled at 16 percent.
- Farley warns Chinese brands could soon dominate the market.
Not long after carmakers caught a break from former US President Donald Trump, who relaxed stringent fuel economy standards, Ford chief executive Jim Farley has written an op-ed urging the European Union to adopt more pragmatic EV targets. Without them, he warns, the region could be swallowed up by fast-moving Chinese entrants.
Read: Ford’s Jim Farley Was “Shocked” After Tearing Down Chinese And Tesla EVs
In a Financial Times op-ed, Farley accuses European policymakers of crafting unrealistic regulations, only to revise them late in the year, creating what he calls a “recipe for turmoil.”
Ford’s CEO argues this approach costs automakers billions in investment by interrupting the “complex cycle of product design, engineering, and supply chains.”
A New Approach is Needed
While speaking in the White House last week, Farley noted that Biden-era policies were unreasonable and not in line with consumer demand. He’s drawn a direct comparison to the situation in Europe, pointing out that EV market share across the EU has stalled at around 16 percent, well short of Brussels’ 25 percent goal for 2025.
“The approach to regulation – mandate it and they will buy it – has failed,” he writes. “We must align carbon targets with actual market adoption and provide automakers with a realistic and reliable 10-year horizon. This includes giving consumers the option to drive hybrid vehicles for longer, bridging the gap rather than forcing a leap to EVs they aren’t ready to take.”
Farley also notes that Europe’s automakers have already poured hundreds of billions into electrification. In return, he believes governments need to step up with serious purchase incentives and support for charging infrastructure that goes well beyond affluent urban neighborhoods.
China Looms Large
The Blue Oval’s boss isn’t just concerned with government policy. He’s also keeping a close eye on the momentum of Chinese automakers. With massive overcapacity and a strong foothold in battery tech, China is now in a position to flood the European market. Over the past year alone, Chinese EV brands have doubled their market share in the region.
“EU vehicle production is now 3mn units below pre-Covid levels,” Farley notes. “Plants are going dark. In 2024 alone, 90,000 jobs in the automotive industry evaporated. These are the kinds of jobs that sustain European social stability”.
This isn’t a hypothetical threat. Farley argues that a combination of subsidized Chinese EVs and rigid carbon mandates could upend the local industry faster than policymakers anticipate....
....MORE
When I was in my post-Valley Girl phase—after "for sure"—I would have typed something like "Ya think?" (please don't judge me). These days I just repost:
December 2023 - "Western Legacy Automakers Probably Won't Be Long-Term Survivors":
Because their current business is being mandated and legislated out of existence the Western marques, barring some serious breakthroughs in small-scale hydrogen or methanol, will have to pivot to EV's.
And they won't be able to compete.
It almost appears that the gifting of the electric vehicle and solar industries to the Chinese was deliberate.....MUCH MORE
March 2024 - This Will Be A Bloodbath: "Biden Set to Crack Down on Auto Emissions to Accelerate EV Sales"
The net effect of this order will be to give the Chinese the auto industry.*Bloodbath (partially) Averted: "A win for automakers as US softens EV mileage rule"
It's only partial because those BYD and other Chinese EV-maker plants to be built in Mexico that Trump was talking about with the "bloodbath" line are still going to destroy Detroit. It will just take a little longer.
It's not just China. Elon Musk, who seems to have some insight into the industry, says there will be 10 surviving EV manufacturers, 9 of them Chinese.* And if that's the case, and if Western governments continue on their path of outlawing internal combustion engines, just what the heck are the legacy marques going to be powered by?
October 2024 - "Mercedes-Benz CEO says auto market is in a ‘Darwinian battle’ as German carmakers flounder"
^THIS^ This is what Elon Musk has been trying to point out for the last two or three years.
And it is true, not just for electric vehicles but for all forms of personal transportation that Chinese industry has decided to own.
And many more.
