The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is requesting information from Ford Motor Co. regarding its expanded battery technology licensing partnership with Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL), a company designated by the Pentagon as a Chinese military-linked entity under Section 1260H of the National Defense Authorization Act.
The request follows concerns in Congress over CATL’s ties to China’s military-civil fusion strategy and broader national security implications of U.S. companies’ partnerships with the firm.
Lawmakers have also raised concerns about alleged links between CATL and human rights abuses involving Uyghurs in Xinjiang. According to the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, the company sources a key battery component from a firm controlled by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, a Chinese paramilitary organization sanctioned by the United States for human rights violations.
Ford’s electric vehicle business has faced significant financial pressure as it scales its EV operations, a key backdrop to the committee’s scrutiny of the company’s battery strategy. Ford’s Model e division reported a $4.8 billion operating loss for full-year 2025, according to fourth-quarter earnings. The company also recorded a $19.5 billion writedown, including $8.5 billion tied to canceled EV programs, and projected additional losses of $4 billion to $4.5 billion for 2026, pushing its breakeven target to 2029, according to company filings.
Ford filings show U.S. sales of the F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E declined sharply in late 2025, particularly after the $7,500 federal EV tax credit expired in September. Rising inventory levels led to increased discounting, further pressuring margins in the company’s electric vehicle segment, underscoring the commercial challenges facing Ford’s broader EV strategy as it expands battery-related partnerships, including its arrangement with CATL.
The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party is a bipartisan committee in the U.S. House of Representatives that examines economic and security challenges posed by the Chinese Communist Party and develops policy recommendations to strengthen U.S. competitiveness, according to its official website.
