Ford is taking a page from BYD after the Chinese EV maker outsold it for the first time

After it was outsold by China’s BYD globally for the first time last year, CEO Jim Farley said Ford “isn’t backing away from EVs.” It’s betting on more affordable models that will start at around $30,000.

Ford falls behind BYD globally as low-cost EVs take over

Although Ford’s sales rose 6% to over 2.2 million vehicles in the US last year, it struggled in other key global markets, including Europe and China.

One of the biggest reasons was the influx of affordable, efficient, and often more advanced EVs from Chinese automakers such as BYD and Geely.

BYD stopped producing vehicles powered solely by internal combustion engines (ICE) in 2022 to focus on battery-electric (BEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles.

So far, it’s paying off. For the first time, BYD outsold Ford globally in 2025. China’s leading EV maker announced last month that it had sold over 4.6 million new energy vehicles (EVs and PHEVs) globally, surpassing Ford, which reported just under 4.4 million.

According to Bloomberg, BYD now ranks sixth in global sales, one spot ahead of Ford. Toyota remained first, followed by Volkswagen, Hyundai Motor (including Kia and Genesis), GM, and Stellantis.

After dominating sales in its home market, BYD is aggressively expanding into overseas markets such as Europe, Southeast Asia, South America, and Australia, with low-cost EVs such as the Dolphin and Atto 2 to drive growth.

As part of its updated Ford+ plan, the American automaker is shifting from larger electric trucks and SUVs to smaller, more affordable EVs.

The key to this, Ford promises, will be its new Universal EV Platform. The UEV platform is Ford’s answer to BYD and other low-cost Chinese EV makers.

Ford’s CEO Jim Farley said the new platform reduces parts usage by 20% compared with the average vehicle. It also has 25% fewer fasteners, 40% fewer worstations dock-to-dock in the plant, and 15% faster assembly time.

Ford will also use lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, which will be produced at its new battery plant in Michigan, using licensed tech from China’s CATL.

Farley doubled down on the company’s bet, posting on social media that “Ford isn’t backing away from EVs, we’re democratizing them.” He added that “Winning this race requires chasing physics, not building bigger batteries. That’s why we developed our Universal Electric Vehicle Platform.”

Ford isn’t backing away from EVs, we’re democratizing them. Winning this race requires chasing physics, not building bigger batteries. That’s why we developed our Universal Electric Vehicle Platform. In a few days, we’ll share a peek at some of the efficiency innovations that… pic.twitter.com/ailVEII7NU

— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) February 12, 2026

On Tuesday, February 17, the company will share an in-depth look at its new platform and how “Ford is taking on the challenge of the electric vehicle cost equation by chasing physics.”

The first vehicle based on the platform will be a midsize electric pickup, due out in 2027, starting at around $30,000.

Ford will also rely on partnerships, including a new one with Renault, to introduce more affordable EVs to market more quickly and with lower upfront costs.