Yea, exactly. American consumers want the technology and pricing that Chinese companies have to offer on EV and EV components. If Canada or Mexico is a possible conduit for them Chinese to deliver their products to Americans, they'll figure out how to make it happen.
Remember what Ford's head honcho said last year? He ain't countin' on tariffs and other protectionist measures, because those are only political stunts and won't help his company compete with the likes of BYD:
U.S. tariffs of 100% on Chinese EVs keep BYD’s Seagull out of showrooms for now. But Jim Farley knows policy winds shift. Axios quotes him saying Ford must match costs, not count on customs. If Chinese brands assemble cars in Mexico or source components through third countries, the price war lands on our doorstep anyway.
For Jim Farley, this is personal and professional. He staked his tenure on making Ford a credible EV player. If he can compress development cycles to Chinese speeds and squeeze Detroit’s cost base, he secures Ford’s next century. If not, the BYD teardown becomes the moment we all should have seen coming.
Jim Farley isn’t just sounding alarms, he’s rewriting the whole company. Now the question is how fast Ford can run.
C1 became C2 back in the twenty teens and included significant lightening.
The Chinese Ford Territory was developed in partnership with its Chinese joint venture partner JMC, Jialing Motor Corporation, blending Australian design/engineering with Chinese manufacturing. The vehicle was based initially on the JMC Yusheng S330 platform for the Chinese market and later refreshed with full Ford design input.
Ford Australia's design studio in Melbourne led development, with testing in both Australia (Geelong) and China (Nanjing), creating an affordable, tech-focused SUV for emerging markets.
The Equator Sport was a full redesign of the Territory by Ford to their specifications and no longer based on the Yuesheng S330. The Equator being the three row extension of that design.
The Equator Sport retaining it Territory name in countries like Mexico and South Africa.
If it is going to be sub-$30,000, then I wonder if it would actually be smaller than the Maverick.
Fiat Strada sized:
I mean if you are going to expand the truck lineup, then subcompact is the only way to go since you already cover compact, mid-size, full size, etc.
Behind a paywall, but the headline says it all.
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/ford/2026/01/16/ford-lincoln-luxury-michigan-central-station-detroit/88219417007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z118559p119950c119950d00----v118559d--76--b--76--&gca-ft=199&gca-ds=sophi
It boils down to sunk cost fallacy to a point.
You'd basically have to completely rebuild FRAP in a higher expense area vs Tennessee
Also keep in mind it was supposed to be an EV plant, so it had/has battery production plants next to it.
If you knew what you know now, maybe Ford would have gone that route...