Ford's CEO says Chinese cars would devastate US manufacturing — but Ford was the first to outsource to China in the 80s

 

Ford's CEO says Chinese cars would devastate US manufacturing — but Ford was the first to outsource to China in the 80s

 

 

Ford CEO Jim Farley said that as he warned that letting Chinese carmakers sell freely in the United States would be “devastating” to American automakers — a defense of domestic manufacturing and market walls in plain English. He ties it to scale (China’s huge capacity), jobs, and lately data/privacy angles on connected cars.

The same public voice sits oddly next to history: Ford was early among U.S. names pushing sourcing and production into China as joint ventures and supply chains matured — while Michigan went through round after round of plant cuts and Detroit-area layoffs in the 2000s (and beyond) as North American footprint shrank or shifted. That is not a moral gotcha on one executive; it is how global auto capital behaved for decades. It does sharpen the irony when the CEO today warns of foreign cars as an existential threat to home builders.

Below is a rough chronology I put together of U.S. automakers leaning on China for parts, JVs, and volume — Ford rows carry the thread I care about here; GM appears where it sets scale next door. Volumes are order-of-magnitude from press and industry chatter, not audited 10-K lines; I will tighten citations when I turn this into a longer piece.

Year	Automaker	What was manufactured	Estimated volume	Cost scale	Notes
1983	AMC/Jeep	Jeep CJ‑7, Cherokee	~10k–20k units/year (early JV)	Medium	Early U.S. JV footprint (not Ford).
1984	Ford	Engine parts, stampings	Parts only (no unit count published)	Low	Often cited as among Ford’s first China manufacturing steps.
1992	GM	Engines, transmissions	Modules only	Medium
1997	GM	Buick Regal, Century	China sales later exceed 1M/year (GM total)	High	—
2001	Ford	Fiesta components	Parts/modules	Medium	—
2003	Ford	Fiesta, Mondeo	JV capacity ~200k/year	Medium	—
2005	GM	Chevrolet Sail, Buick Excelle	GM China sales >1M/year	High	—
2006–2010	Ford	Engines, transmissions	Powertrain modules	Medium	—
2011	Ford	Focus, Kuga, EcoSport	Ford China sales ~900k/year	High	Peak local volume era before some retrenchment.
2012–2015	GM	Cadillac XTS, ATS‑L	GM China sales ~3M/year	High	—
2016	Ford	Edge, Taurus	Ford China capacity ~200k/year (Harbin plant)	Medium	—
2017	Ford	EV components	Modules only	Medium	—
2018	Ford	Focus (exported to U.S.)	Low volume (Focus discontinued in U.S.)	Medium	Re-import chapter — U.S. buyer, China build.
2019–2020	GM, Ford	Batteries, EV motors	China = world’s largest EV component producer	High	Supply chain depth, not only badges.

 

 

GM, too — not just Ford

Year	What GM Manufactured in China	Estimated Volume	Cost Scale	Notes
1985–1991	Small components, wiring harnesses	Parts only	Low	Early sourcing before major JV formation
1992	Engines, transmissions (SAIC–GM groundwork)	Modules only	Medium	GM begins deep technical cooperation with SAIC
1997	Buick Regal, Buick Century	~100k–200k units/year	High	SAIC–GM becomes China’s top JV almost immediately
1999–2003	Buick Excelle, Sail (Chevrolet)	GM China sales cross 500k/year	High	GM becomes dominant foreign automaker
2004–2008	Full vehicle lineup: Buick, Chevrolet, Wuling	GM China sales exceed 1M/year	High	China becomes GM’s largest market outside U.S.
2009–2012	Wuling microvans, Baojun models	1.2M–1.5M units/year	High	SAIC‑GM‑Wuling becomes world’s largest microvan producer
2013–2015	Cadillac XTS, ATS‑L (localized luxury)	~200k/year luxury segment	High	GM localizes Cadillac to compete with Audi/BMW
2016	Chevrolet Malibu XL, Buick LaCrosse	GM China sales ~3M/year	High	Peak GM China volume
2017	EV components (motors, controllers)	Modules only	Medium	GM shifts EV supply chain to China
2018	Buick Envision exported to U.S.	~40k–50k units/year	Medium	First GM China‑built vehicle sold in U.S.
2019–2020	Batteries, EV motors (Ultium supply chain)	China = world’s largest EV component source	High	GM integrates Chinese suppliers into EV architecture

 

What I take from it

Farley is doing his job for Ford shareholders in 2026: keep tariffs and narrative pressure on a rival that could flood price-sensitive segments. More broadly, the tables are a reminder that “American” automakers have long chased efficiency and margin across global supply chains — not only Ford, and not only “today.” Policy fights of the 2020s sit on top of choices from the 1980s onward.

China didn’t “show up” today. American companies chasing profits started building and localizing in China roughly two decades ago, and now they complain that China is taking over. That is how capitalism works: the only way through for U.S. companies is to innovate faster and keep building better products.

---

References (starting points)

• Business Insider — Farley’s “devastating” quote on Chinese automakers entering the U.S.
• Yahoo Finance — same story line
• For JV history and volumes, I plan to lean on Ford / GM annual reports, SAIC / Changan-side releases, and Caixin / Automotive News China when I fill out the table for a longer version.

---

#Ford #China #JimFarley #AutoIndustry #EV #Trade #TechMuffins #RBL #Manufacturing