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Table of Contents
⚡ This Week’s Big Charge
💡 The Inevitable Question Hanging Over Detroit: China
This will be a somewhat abbreviated edition of Route Zero. Much of my time this week was spent traveling to and from California. (Side note: the three-hour EST to PST time change is just enough to wreck your existence.)
In the meantime, let’s talk about China. Its fast-growing auto industry continues to define the wider conversation in 2026—especially now that Canada is opening its doors to cheap Chinese EV imports. But lately, that conversation isn’t just about how U.S. automakers (including “foreign” brands with major American operations like Toyota and Volkswagen) can compete with a high-tech rival that also enjoys a massive labor-cost advantage.
Now, the question is: If Ford, General Motors and the rest can’t risk taking on China’s automakers here, should they join up with them instead?
After all, that’s the reality elsewhere in the world.
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🛻 The Curious Case Of Ford And Xiaomi (And Maybe Geely? Or BYD?)
This past weekend, the Financial Times reported that Ford held talks with Chinese gadget titan turned electric vehicle maker Xiaomi about a potential joint venture.
The discussions, while preliminary, would have included plans to manufacture EVs in the United States.
Ford’s denial of the story was swift and vehement, perhaps unusually so: “This story is completely false. There is no truth to it,” the automaker said. Xiaomi said as much as well.
The story also said Ford has spoken with BYD and other Chinese automakers about partnerships. But it didn’t end there.
A few days later, Reuters reported that Ford and Geely—the Chinese parent company of Volvo, Polestar and many other brands—are in discussions about a potential partnership, this time for European car manufacturing.
Geely could gain access to Ford factory space in Europe, the story said, and the two reportedly also discussed “shared vehicle technologies, including for automated driving.”
This time, Ford demurred, saying it has “discussions with lots of companies all the time” that may or may not go anywhere.
That is certainly true. But two stories in such quick order—and from the FT and Reuters, which are about as rock-solid as newsrooms get—make me think that something’s up here. Especially with Reuters reporting the specific detail that “Ford sent a delegation to China this week to intensify discussions” with Geely.
So what does this mean? I’m still digging into that too, but here are some thoughts.