Ford China President Anning Chen

Q1, What are your expectations for the auto show?

A1: Although the biennial Beijing Auto Show was postponed for a while, its final arrival is encouraging for all. This time, the show will not only serve as the highest-standard stage for the industry to exhibit the latest brand images, enterprise strategies and products, it will also effectively promote communication for the whole mobility industry. We are looking forward to meeting our customers’ latest needs and preferences by displaying cutting-edge products that conform to “ACES” (Autonomous, Connected, Electrified and Shared Mobility).

Q2, With the pandemic slowing down, China’s automotive market has started to recover in the second quarter. What do you predict for China's auto market in the near future? The current recovery trend shows a “V” shape in sales, what do you think would be in the next stage? A “√” shape, a “W” shape, an “M” shape, or a “√¯” shape?

A2: The market recovery has improved our faith in sales for the second half of the year. With the State vigorously advocating new infrastructure construction and promoting the deep integration of the internet, big data, AI, 5G and traditional industries, China’s automobile industry is transforming to “ACES”  which will provide the whole industry with new development opportunities.

Q3, Can you use a few keywords to describe your predictions for the Chinese and global automotive industries in the next five years?

A3: Ford believes that “innovation” and “integration” will be the major trends of the future automobile industry upgrading.

Q4, The virus has drastically affected people's lives. It has also caused people to rethink many aspects of life, including their way of traveling, and business management. From your perspective, what are the most important lessons we can take away from this pandemic? Can you also use a few keywords to summarize the impact?

A4: The impact of the pandemic forced the whole society to accelerate the digitalization, networking and intelligent transformation. If we want to sum up this period with some key words or phrases, I think “keeping calm in the face of difficulties”, “turning adversity into opportunity”, “being accountable” and “persisting in innovation” would be appropriate.

Q5, What do you think about the social responsibilities that the automotive companies have taken during the epidemic?

A5: The pandemic has been a great challenge for everyone. It dealt the whole automobile industry a heavy blow amid the global economic slowdown. The broken supply chains and the shutdowns of factories and dealers have greatly undermined consumers’ and investors’ faith. In this case, no one is an island. Thus, a great number of automobile companies took actions to overcome the difficulties and practice social responsibility by switching their manufacturing from automobile vehicles to various medical supplies, which helped to save themselves and the whole society at the same time.

Q6, In the post-epidemic era, how will China's position and role be affected in the global automotive industry? What do you think the players should do next?

A6: Although China’s automobile market has encountered a “cold winter” in recent years, it is still the largest single market worldwide and has a great consumption advantage.

In addition, the epidemic prompted consumers to expect and demand more healthy travel options, which may continue to be an important consideration for consumers in the future. In the face of challenges, automobile companies should remain calm and courageous, and never stop forging ahead.