Global automakers are pushing forward with plans to use China as an export hub for the world, particularly for electric cars, after signs from Washington and Beijing that they are getting closer to resolving their year-long trade war.
Ford was forced to cancel plans to export its Focus model from China to the US due to the trade war. But it is “halfway through” developing a model in the eastern city of Hangzhou that will be “made in China for the world”, Tim Slatter, Ford China’s product development executive, told the Financial Times.
“You are going to see Chinese design coming to the west,” he said, adding that US-China trade negotiations could “lead to an environment where we can more easily operate trade between China and other markets”.