Ford CEO Jim Farley praised a super-cheap EV – that’s been dubbed the ‘Temu Tesla’ – and says he ‘doesn’t want to give it up’.
Farley said he ordered the Xiaomi SU7 from China last year as the cars aren’t available to buy in the US.
Xiaomi unveiled the SU7 in late 2023 and it went into production the following March.
The car costs from as little as $30,000 – and it seems it has earned itself a very unlikely fan in Farley.
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Ford CEO Jim Farley drove the car for months
Like many car manufacturers in recent years, Ford has branched out into the world of EV and hybrids, with several vehicles, including its all-electric F-150 Lightning.
Ford also recently published plans that could be a bit of a game-changer when it comes to the world of electric vehicles.
So, it should come as no surprise that the marque’s CEO Jim Farley likes to keep his eye on the competition when it comes to EVs.
And it seems that Xiaomi has managed to make him particularly impressed with its SU7.
Speaking on the Everything Electric Show podcast, he said he had purchased the vehicle from China and had it shipped to him in the US.
“I don’t like talking about the competition so much, but I drive the Xiaomi,” he said on the podcast back in October.
“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.”
Farley said it’s important he checks out the competition
While it may seem strange for the CEO of a major automotive company to admit to driving around in a rival vehicle, Farley said it was all to do with checking out the competition.
In a post on X a couple of days after the podcast was released, the Ford CEO explained why it was important for him to check out other vehicles.
“I try to drive everything we compete against,” he wrote.
“Have done it my whole career. Specs can tell part of a story, but you’ve got to get behind the wheel to truly understand and beat the competition.”
The Xiaomi SU7 has been dubbed the ‘Temu Tesla’ by some online commenters, and it’s been a huge success for Xiaomi.
According to reports at the time of its release, Xiaomi received more than 100,000 orders for the EV before the first delivery was even made.
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