The US automaker has weathered a difficult EV transition, announcing US$19.5 billion in charges to overhaul its strategy Read more at The Business Times.
  • rayyy@piefed.socialEnglish
    11·
    11 hours ago

    Ford is going to fail. China will win. China sees the future is electric while Ford is grubbing for bigger profits off IC monsters that people can’t afford anymore.

  • NatakuNox@lemmy.worldEnglish
    17·
    13 hours ago

    The moment BYD is allowed in the US. American made cars will be officially dead. The only thing keeping the industry alive is lack of outside competition.

    • Ugandan Airways@lemmy.zipEnglish
      1·
      12 minutes ago

      I lived in mainland China for a while (Shanghai and then Shenzhen), and honestly I wasn’t impressed with BYD. Felt like a discount Tesla. The name is stupid as hell too: “build your dreams.” It will definitely be popular with people looking for a cheap EV, which is a good thing, but I don’t think it’ll make that much of a dent in the mid-range and luxury markets. But arguably that probably shouldn’t be their target market. I’d love to see what happens if the US actually let them be sold.

    • baller_w@lemmy.zipEnglish
      2·
      60 minutes ago

      Yeah, I mostly agree. Most Americans will buy an EV as soon as the price is reasonable and the charge anxiety goes away. If BYD made a hybrid that was as cheap as their current cars and performed like a Tesla, I think most new car buyers would forget their qualms with China really quick

    • CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      3·
      6 hours ago

      Lack of outside competition? American brands already make up a minority of sales in the US. The majority of sales are brands from elsewhere in the world.

      People are just making up talking points at this point.

    • Not_mikey@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      1·
      5 hours ago

      Nah, Americans don’t want electric cars, they want monster truck sized pickups and that’s what Ford is selling. They’re barely even buying ICE sedans these days which are still more convenient than EVs.

    • SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.caEnglish
      5·
      8 hours ago

      If that were true, Germany would’ve killed American cars a long time ago.

      If that were true, Korea would’ve killed American cars a long time ago.

    • jacksilver@lemmy.worldEnglish
      9·
      10 hours ago

      I mean, China is just the latest competition, we already have a lot of foreign cars in the US. I still think the government will ensure Ford exists simply for domestic manufacturing and security.

        • CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          3·
          6 hours ago

          And that price is fake because the Chinese government is making up the difference between the real price and the price it takes to undercut all the competition. This is how China takes over industries wherever it goes, and once they have control of these industries, the price unsurprisingly shoots up as there is no one left to compete.

            • CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
              3·
              5 hours ago

              For an obvious example, go to the store and pick any random item off the shelf and its likely made in China. They’ve done it with ships, solar panels, batteries, steel, railcars, and now EVs to list just a few.

              They certainly aren’t selling feature-rich EVs for 1/4th the price of everyone else on the planet for altruistic reasons and I’m sure you can’t list any examples of an industry under monopolistic control that benefitted anyone other than the people controlling it.

              • 𝚝𝚛𝚔@aussie.zoneEnglish
                2·
                5 hours ago

                I’d like some specific examples of what you originally described please, not just a general “China makes everything” as if that proves anything.

                China makes everything because Western companies sought to maximise profit.

                Costs go up, because the Western companies selling the Chinese-made product put the price up to maximise profit.

                You don’t get to outsource everything and charge top dollar for it, then cry to the government that you need protection when the Chinese companies start competing in the same market with the same product for cheaper.

                • CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
                  3·
                  4 hours ago

                  I did list specific examples. You claiming “China makes everything because Western companies sought to maximise profit. Costs go up, because the Western companies selling the Chinese-made product put the price up to maximise profit” is also a generalization that proves nothing.

                  In these industries listed, the Chinese government is subsidizing these companies so they can sell these products for a cheaper price than anyone else in the world and put their competition out of business, which is exactly why “they make everything.” Your argument is akin to claiming that the ever increasing wealth billionaires isn’t the reason why the average American becomes poorer each year, as if the two things aren’t mutually exclusive.

                  Capitalism dictates going with the cheapest price and China ensures it can always offer the cheapest price using their government’s deep pockets, but this isn’t sustainable forever which is why prices must rise once the competition is out of the way. They can then take this capital and repeat the cycle in a new industry.

                  How you can claim “yeah China makes everything but that doesn’t prove they take over every industry they move into” without any sense of irony is quite bewildering. There’s no secret knowledge or magical formula that exists only within the borders of China that allows them to undercut everyone else. It’s just a giant pile of money that allows them to do it.

        • jacksilver@lemmy.worldEnglish
          3·
          6 hours ago

          I don’t think they’ll ever let them sell them at those prices in the US. This is actually one of the times where tarrifs are smart economic policy. Both to protect a critical manufacturing capability and also because there is a lot of evidence that Chinas prices arent sustainable longterm (seems like the car industry may be their next evergrande).

      • tankfox@bookwyr.meEnglish
        2·
        11 hours ago

        I don’t see what would stop a state like California from arbitrarily legalizing BYD vehicles just like they did with weed. The current admin has already used up most of the soft leverage actions it has available just to be pissy and ‘they imported China cars!’ would make for a particularly eye-rolling casus belli for the civil war they intend to instigate.

  • Humanius@lemmy.worldEnglish
    20·
    15 hours ago

    Doesn’t Ford mostly focuss on the American market these days? They don’t make reasonably sized or affordable cars anymore, only oversized pickups and SUVs, which don’t sell well outside of North America.

    Meanwhile BYD has the Chinese market already, and is expanding globally, selling relatively affordable EVs.
    I’m not exactly surprised that they are outselling Ford

      • CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        3·
        6 hours ago

        Its not collusion. They just can compete against Japanese and South Korean brands in this segment so all the R&D money designing and building compact cars was going to waste. People would rather buy a Civic or Corolla than a Cruze or Focus.

        It’s no like they’re forcing people to buy bigger cars especially considering these brands already make up a minority of sales in the US.

        • BeardedGingerWonder@feddit.ukEnglish
          1·
          2 hours ago

          I’ll disagree, personally I’d have bought a Mondeo over a VAG wagon in a heartbeat if they still made them. I got talking to a salesman at my local dealership and the sentiment is basically “no-one really understands what they’re doing, they’ve stopped making all the cars that sold well”

          • CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
            1·
            1 hour ago

            No doubt there are outliers, but sales figures show that German brands (and Tesla) dominated sales in the EU while the Mondeo was still around. Here in the US, this segment is dominated by Asian and German brands as well which leaves little room for companies like Ford or GM to compete, especially when this whole segment shows declining sales year over year. They sell far more trucks and SUVs which is why those have become their focus. Why spend billions to build a car that only earns you millions?

      • Humanius@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        7 hours ago

        Stellantis does make affordable vehicles though… in Europe…
        They own Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat, Opel, etc and they have been making great affordable EVs for a few years now.

        Stellantis in the US and Stellantis in Europe seem like two entirely different entities that don’t talk to one another.

    • Buffalox@lemmy.worldEnglish
      8·
      15 hours ago

      They don’t make reasonably sized or affordable cars anymore,

      In Europe they do, and it’s still a reasonably popular brand despite Trump.

    • ShinkanTrain@lemmy.mlEnglish
      2·
      12 hours ago

      Compact/Crossover SUVs are hugely popular worldwide, they’ve been replacing sedans/hatchbacks here. I was surprised to learn BYD’s best selling car wasn’t the smaller Dolphin or Seagull, but the Song Plus.

      But, yeah, Ford has been focusing on bigass expensive cars here too. Their cheapest (gas) vehicle for this year is more expensive than the BYD Song plug-in hybrid, which is twice the price of the Seagull.