Ford CEO Says China's Electrified Pickups Are 'Different Animals'

Ford's CEO shared that while it has the decades of truck-building under its belt, Chinese brands make a "pretty competitive product."

BYD Shark Hero

Photo by: BYD

Rob Stumpf

By: Rob Stumpf

Mar 17, at 2:27pm ET

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Ford CEO Jim Farley recently checked out the BYD Shark in Australia.
He said that the electrified pickup is a "different beast" compared to the Ford Ranger.
Farley also said he has "no idea how they make money" on the Shark.

Automotive executives tend to be diplomatic when talking about competitors. There's usually a lot of beating around the bush as to avoid being overly critical or complementing another brand. Then there's ford CEO Jim Farley, who has been one of the strongest public cheerleaders behind China's EV engineering.

Recently, Farley went to check out BYD's Shark 6 electrified pickup in Australia. Much like other Chinese-built EVs, Farley was impressed with capability at the price point that BYD can offer it at. But, that comes with an asterisk—according to the CEO, the Shark is a "different animal" compared to offerings like the Ford Ranger.

BYD Shark 6

Photo by: BYD

"I spent three days driving LandCruiser 70s, the Shark, the Great Wall product—the PHEV," Farley told Drive at the Australian Grand Prix. "They're different. How I make of it, they're totally different animals. The Shark is a ute, but if you put 500 kg in the back, it's not a Ranger, it's not a HiLux."

That alone tells the world that Ford doesn't see China's electrified pickups, like the hybrid Shark, in the same light as smaller trucks in the Ford lineup like the Ranger. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.

"[F]or someone who doesn't do that every day, and they want electrification, you know, it's a pretty competitive product," said Farley, referring to loading up the bed with 500 kilograms. "I have no idea how they make money when we tear it apart."

Now, Farley also pulled one of legacy auto's most-used card out of the deck when comparing the lineup. He mentions that the Chinese automakers haven't been building these trucks for decades, so they don't have the same know-how that Ford and does. But that certainly won't be the case forever.

He continued: "The reality is that [...] with Great Wall especially, the competitive landscape has completely changed now in the last three, four years globally. Body-on-frame medium pickup trucks are a global profit pool that every Chinese company is looking at, and so we need our best and the brightest."

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Farley has spoken at length about the economics and threat of China's EVs. He called the experience of tearing down these EVs "humbling" and said that it inspired a shake-up at the company. That experience isn't just limited to battery-electric cars, apparently, but also extends to other electrified vehicles in the Chinese arsenal like BYD's Shark plug-in hybrid.

Farley still prefers the Ranger when it comes to doing "real work," but just like Xiaomi surprised the CEO, these Chinese trucks are quickly making an impression on Detroit.

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