Ford’s chief executive revealed that he drives a $30,000 Chinese-made electric sedan — and got ripped by critics, who called it a “slap in the face” to employees of the Detroit-based automaker.
Farley, who has been CEO of Ford since October 2020, said he drives a Xiaomi SU7, an electric sedan that retails for $30,000 that he had specially flown in from Shanghai. Introduced in December 2023, the SU7 is the first EV sold by Xiaomi, the world’s second-largest seller of smartphones.
Farley told “The Fully Charged Podcast” that he has no plans to switch to an EV manufactured in the US.
“I don’t like talking about the competition so much, but I drive the Xiaomi,” Farley told podcast host Robert Llewellyn.
“We flew one from Shanghai to Chicago, and I’ve been driving it for six months now and I don’t want to give it up.”
Jason Isaac, who heads the American Energy Institute, took aim at Farley for shunning US-made technology.
“Jim Farley’s recent admission that he drives a Chinese-made electric vehicle is a slap in the face to the thousands of hardworking employees at Ford Motor Company,” Isaac told National Review.
“At a time when Ford is receiving billions of dollars in subsidies from American taxpayers to support domestic EV production, it is deeply troubling that the company’s chief executive would choose a Chinese product over an American vehicle his own company manufactures,” he added.
The Post has sought comment from Ford.
The Xiaomi SU7 was introduced to great fanfare in China, but the vehicle is unavailable for purchase in the US because the federal government has slapped a 100% tariff on Chinese-made EVs — making them prohibitively expensive to import.
Xiaomi’s vehicle also does not meet regulatory safety standards required of all cars, while its charging specifications make it incompatible with the US system.