Ford discovered the secret: they just had to open Chinese cars to understand why their electric vehicles weigh more, cost more, and result in a $5 billion loss per year.

Written by Romário Pereira de Carvalho

Published on 01/06/2026 at 12:38

Be the first to react!

After dismantling models from Tesla and Xiaomi, Ford identified excess weight, additional wiring, and greater complexity in its electric vehicles, exposing losses of $5 billion per year in the Model E division

Ford began to review its strategy for electric cars after dismantling models from different manufacturers, including Tesla and Xiaomi, and identifying disadvantages in cost, weight, efficiency, and software integration. The diagnosis led CEO Jim Farley to admit that the traditional automaker lagged behind new competitors in the sector.

Ford discovered the secret of Chinese cars — Image: Disclosure / BYD

Electric cars expose cost and efficiency differences

The internal analysis showed that Ford was still applying some of the logic of combustion vehicles to electric cars.

This choice increased assembly complexity and hindered the pursuit of efficiency, especially compared to companies that were born focused on electric platforms.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Ford CEO sees delay compared to Tesla and Xiaomi

Jim Farley stated that the evaluation was “very humbling” in terms of quality and cost. For him, these points are basic for an industrial company, but they showed that Ford had more ground to recover than it imagined.

The executive also admitted to using a Xiaomi SU7 in his daily life. The choice reinforces the automaker’s interest in understanding how more recent manufacturers structure their electric vehicles, especially in integration, software, and industrial simplification.

Change involves treating vehicles as digital devices

Ford has started advocating for electric cars to be treated as digital devices, with a greater presence of software and services.

This vision aims to bring vehicles closer to the logic adopted by new manufacturers, instead of repeating solutions used in combustion models.

In 2022, the company separated its electric operation into a division called Model E. According to Farley, the measure also exposed investors to the financial losses of the electric vehicle business, estimated at $5 billion per year.

Pressure increases on traditional manufacturers

The pressure from Tesla and new manufacturers has led Ford to rethink technology, costs, and industrial processes.

The case shows how the competition in electric cars goes beyond the battery and involves how the entire vehicle is designed, assembled, and connected.

This article was prepared based on information from the base material provided, with data, numbers, and statements preserved according to the consulted material.

Ford discovered the secret: they just had to open Chinese cars to understand why their electric vehicles weigh more, cost more, and result in a $5 billion loss per year.

After dismantling models from Tesla and Xiaomi, Ford identified excess weight, additional wiring, and greater complexity in its electric vehicles, exposing losses of $5 billion per year in the Model E division

Electric cars expose cost and efficiency differences

Ford CEO sees delay compared to Tesla and Xiaomi

Change involves treating vehicles as digital devices

Pressure increases on traditional manufacturers

A giant printer called the “Ferrari” of concrete has landed in Latin America and can already build a 120-square-meter house in just 48 hours, making the traditional construction site look like something from the last century.

Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt has ceased to be a climatic phenomenon and has become a biological system that feeds on itself, with 8,000 kilometers in length, 37 million tons of algae, and scientists confirm that it is now permanent.

Brazil will harvest a record crop of up to 357 million tons of grains, but it does not have the capacity to store a large part of it. The storage deficit has reached the highest level in history and is equivalent to almost the entire production of Argentina.

She started by collecting oyster shells from restaurants and today she has already accumulated more than 10 tons to restore reefs, recover coastal habitats, and demonstrate how a common waste can become a tool for ocean conservation.

Philippines begin construction of the country’s largest desalination plant in a city without enough fresh water to grow, and the 66,500 m³ per day plant will transform the sea into drinking water for 50,000 homes in 24 months with reverse osmosis technology from SUEZ and JEMCO.

Turkey is building a billion-dollar shortcut to channel billions of dollars by sea with a 45 km long canal, 275 meters wide and 20.75 meters deep, which promises to relieve the Bosphorus amid the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz.

A nearly submerged sandbank turned, in a few months, into a Chinese artificial island of almost 1,500 acres in the South China Sea, a development captured by satellites that reignites tensions with Vietnam and fears about the militarization of one of the busiest trade routes on the planet.

Wind turbine blades the size of airplane wings become the new challenge for clean energy: the world could accumulate 43 million tons of this material by 2050 as China, Europe, and the United States rush to prevent green giants from ending up buried in landfills.

In the French Mediterranean, turbines that float on the sea instead of being anchored to the seabed have started delivering energy to homes and businesses for the first time.

England restores giant chalk figure in Dorset and reignites debate over Saxon origin, Hercules, and a curious medieval mystery

The largest pharmacy chain in Southern Brazil, with nearly 25,000 employees, begins testing the 5×2 schedule in some stores to avoid being caught off guard while Congress discusses the possible end of the 6×1 workweek in Brazil.

Ford discovered the secret: they just had to open Chinese cars to understand why their electric vehicles weigh more, cost more, and result in a $5 billion loss per year.

After dismantling models from Tesla and Xiaomi, Ford identified excess weight, additional wiring, and greater complexity in its electric vehicles, exposing losses of $5 billion per year in the Model E division

Electric cars expose cost and efficiency differences

Ford CEO sees delay compared to Tesla and Xiaomi

Change involves treating vehicles as digital devices

Pressure increases on traditional manufacturers

A giant printer called the “Ferrari” of concrete has landed in Latin America and can already build a 120-square-meter house in just 48 hours, making the traditional construction site look like something from the last century.

Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt has ceased to be a climatic phenomenon and has become a biological system that feeds on itself, with 8,000 kilometers in length, 37 million tons of algae, and scientists confirm that it is now permanent.

Brazil will harvest a record crop of up to 357 million tons of grains, but it does not have the capacity to store a large part of it. The storage deficit has reached the highest level in history and is equivalent to almost the entire production of Argentina.

She started by collecting oyster shells from restaurants and today she has already accumulated more than 10 tons to restore reefs, recover coastal habitats, and demonstrate how a common waste can become a tool for ocean conservation.

Philippines begin construction of the country’s largest desalination plant in a city without enough fresh water to grow, and the 66,500 m³ per day plant will transform the sea into drinking water for 50,000 homes in 24 months with reverse osmosis technology from SUEZ and JEMCO.

Turkey is building a billion-dollar shortcut to channel billions of dollars by sea with a 45 km long canal, 275 meters wide and 20.75 meters deep, which promises to relieve the Bosphorus amid the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz.

China gets tired and now wants to “retire” “zero gravity” seats in electric cars due to collision risks and targets feature used in BYD luxury models

Dealerships in Brazil are starting to bet more on Chinese cars after seeing margins of R$ 80,000, lower initial investment, and a market that could gain 2,000 new stores.

Brazil has never seen so many Chinese SUVs arriving at once, and 2026 promises to be the year of the definitive invasion, with BYD, GWM, Omoda, Jaecoo, GAC, and newcomer Lynk&Co launching models ranging from affordable compacts to luxury hybrids with over 400 hp.

Nissan sells “Kicks popular” cheaper than Kwid, Mobi, and C3 in Brazil; for about R$ 30,000 in conversion without taxes, Magnite looks like a compact SUV, with 16-inch wheels, 6 airbags starting from the Visia version, and represents an affordable Nissan that disappeared from Brazilian stores.

A nearly submerged sandbank turned, in a few months, into a Chinese artificial island of almost 1,500 acres in the South China Sea, a development captured by satellites that reignites tensions with Vietnam and fears about the militarization of one of the busiest trade routes on the planet.

Wind turbine blades the size of airplane wings become the new challenge for clean energy: the world could accumulate 43 million tons of this material by 2050 as China, Europe, and the United States rush to prevent green giants from ending up buried in landfills.

In the French Mediterranean, turbines that float on the sea instead of being anchored to the seabed have started delivering energy to homes and businesses for the first time.

England restores giant chalk figure in Dorset and reignites debate over Saxon origin, Hercules, and a curious medieval mystery

The largest pharmacy chain in Southern Brazil, with nearly 25,000 employees, begins testing the 5×2 schedule in some stores to avoid being caught off guard while Congress discusses the possible end of the 6×1 workweek in Brazil.