At Ford’s Accelerate Pro conference in Detroit, the company CEO Jim Farley discussed the rising prices in the EV market and mentioned that U.S. consumers are not interested in electric vehicles priced at $75,000.
Farley stated, “We’ve learned … people are not willing to pay [a] $30,000 premium for that big battery on a [$50,000], $60,000 utility. But they’re willing to buy a $30,000 EV if they save $2,000 a year compared to gas costs.”
The CEO also noted that the automaker has been ranked “No. 2 to Tesla for three years” and is using lessons learned from that to improve how it meets consumer needs.
Regarding the intensifying Chinese competition in the EV market, Farley stated, “Ford has to innovate to catch up with BYD because we’re a global company. We’re going to compete with them around the world. We had to reload our capital on what we learned, move as fast as we can, and then we’ve got to make sure we’re future-proof to BYD.”
Farley and fellow business leaders also hosted the first national conversation on the Essential Economy on September 30, where Ford’s CEO commented on the state of the current U.S. economy.
“The problems with the essential economy are problems for all of us,” Farley said. “What happened to the essential economy? We outsourced a lot of skills and jobs. We stopped investing in the trades. If Henry Ford saw what has become of us, I think he’d be kind of mad.”
Farley emphasized that investment in the essential economy in the U.S. is among the lowest in the world.
“One of the biggest barriers is the hesitancy to enter these trades, because as a society, we don’t really reward or celebrate the people who take on these kinds of jobs,” he said. “We can’t rely on government to fix it. We can’t just rely on business or communities. It has to be a cooperative effort.”
Ford shares rose 2% following Farley’s comments.
By CEO NA Editorial Staff
