Ford May Rebrand Its EVs in CN, Says BYD, Tesla Are in Different Leagues

Ford Motor $Ford Motor (F.US)$ CEO Jim Farley said a rebranding was needed to adapt to the China market, in response to the extremely competitive electric vehicle market there, but declined to give details of the rebranding plan.

Ford's sales in China fell last quarter. He noted that the brands that have been successful in China have been those that launched with an all-electric vehicles lineup and focused on technology development, driver digital experience and services, such as $XPENG-W (09868.HK)$ , $NIO-SW (09866.HK)$ and $LI AUTO-W (02015.HK)$. As state-owned automakers begin to launch new brands of electric vehicles, the competition among brands will focus on technology and the digital experience.

He added that $BYD COMPANY (01211.HK)$ is the most popular EV brand in China, dominating the EV and plug-in hybrid market, and is in a completely different league from $Tesla (TSLA.US)$ , as BYD has a fully vertically integrated production model that no other carmaker in the world can achieve at the moment.