FORD Motor Co. is considering making its new electric Mustang Mach-E in China, depending on how the Sino-U.S. trade conflict plays out, chief executive officer Jim Hackett said.

“We need to determine whether the tariffs are settled. And it would be great” if they were settled, Hackett said after a launch event for the car in Los Angeles. “We have a plan to build in China if we have to.”

In an earlier interview with Bloomberg TV, Hackett said he believed there would be good demand for the car in China. “I’m smiling because China has got a mandate for electrification, so the Mach-E has a role in that,” he said.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has criticized American firms for manufacturing overseas, said in August that U.S. companies should look for alternatives to China. But many continue to expand operations in China, including Tesla Inc., which has built a Gigafactory on the outskirts of Shanghai.

The electric Mustang will take on Tesla models when it goes on sale in the United States and Europe next fall, the first Ford model to be launched simultaneously in both region.

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers have ambitions to break into overseas markets. Just last week, property giant China Evergrande Group restated its aim of being the world’s biggest maker of EVs in three to five years. The company, founded by China’s third-richest man Hui Ka-yan, plans to debut its Hengchi EV by next June.

Hackett said Ford is waiting to launch in China because “we’ve got to make sure that we’re flawless” in introducing the model in the United States and Europe.

(SD-Agencies)