Farley Says Europe Waited Too Long on Chinese Cars. The U.S. Still Has a Choice.

DETROIT — Jim Farley wants Washington to slow down.

At the Automotive News Congress in Detroit on Tuesday, Ford's president and CEO said the United States must "be extremely careful around how the Chinese OEMs come to our country." Europe, he said, shows the cost of moving late. "It's too late" there. Here, he argued, politicians can still "take our time to be considerate."

The Europe case is not a rumor. Chinese brands held almost no European share in 2020. In August 2026, Dataforce put them at a record 11.7 percent of new-car registrations. GlobalData says Chinese brands' global share jumped nearly 70 percent from 2020 to 2025. Reuters reports China is on track to export about 12 million cars this year, up from about 3 million in 2022.

Farley stretched the map south as well. He told the Detroit Free Press that Chinese-made vehicles now account for 25 percent of new-car sales in Mexico. Independent tallies put China-built vehicles, including cars made there for non-Chinese brands, near the high twenties in early 2026, with Chinese brands themselves closer to the mid-teens. The direction he is pointing is real even if the exact percentage depends on the definition.

He is also answering a fight at home. On September 8, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent Farley a letter expressing "profound concern" about Ford's ties to Chinese companies. Ford licenses CATL battery technology for BlueOval Park Michigan and, in July, agreed with Geely to build electric vehicles at Ford's Valencia plant in Spain. Farley's reply was blunt. Partner where Ford lacks intellectual property or needs capital efficiency. Compete where it must. "Stop the drama," he said. "Just get on with designing good vehicles."

That dual track is the heart of the story. Ford is fighting Chinese brands in Europe, learning from Chinese battery partners in Michigan, and preparing its Universal EV pickup, the Fathom, as a cheaper American answer. Warning against Chinese cars in the United States while using Chinese know-how at home can both be true. It is also convenient. A closed U.S. market protects Ford's share. Chinese partnerships cut Ford's costs.

"Too late" for Europe is a judgment with evidence under it. The share climb happened, helped lately by hybrids that sit outside the EU's steepest Chinese EV duties. Europe still builds cars and still writes rules. What Farley means is that Chinese brands already have product, dealers, and customer familiarity there. Unwinding that is harder than never opening the door.

The United States is not Europe yet. Chinese vehicle imports already face duties above 100 percent, and connected-vehicle software rules have kept Chinese brands off American lots. Automaker lobbyists want that wall made permanent, and Congress has bills to lock in a ban. President Donald Trump has also floated letting Chinese automakers in if they build here, after hosting China's Xi Jinping in Washington last week. Farley's caution is aimed at that opening. Domestic plants could become the compromise that softens an outright ban.

He also reached for national security. Cars can drive themselves and "take videos of everything," he told the Free Press. That tracks the Senate's Connected Vehicle Security Act. It is the strongest case for limits that is not about Ford's payroll. It is also easy to oversell. A camera is not automatically espionage. Connected software, maps, and update channels are the real policy fight Washington has chosen.

Households feel a different pressure. Cox found 38 percent of U.S. shoppers willing to cross-shop a Chinese brand. A roughly $26,000 overseas EV looks different from a $55,000 American one when gas is high. Farley's industrial-base warning and that price gap are the same problem from two sides. Keep the cheap cars out, and Detroit has to build something people can pay for. Open the door, and the politics arrive with the inventory.

For the United States, the window is open and narrowing. Congress can harden the ban. The White House can trade U.S. plants for market access. Ford can keep CATL and Geely while lobbying for caution. Shoppers, including Asian American and Asian Canadian households watching the price of a commute, will feel the result as payment and choice. Until the rules move, run the car affordability calculator on the cars you can actually buy.