"They developed very quickly, and they developed them in large scale. And now they're exporting them," Ford told CNN's 'Fareed Zakaria GPS' Sunday programme. "They're not here but they'll come here we think, at some point, we need to be ready, and we're getting ready," Bill says.

In February, the automaker announced plans to invest $3.5 billion to build an electric vehicle battery plant in Michigan in a deal that involved using technology from Chinese battery company CATL, attracting attention from a US Senator who asked the Biden administration to review the deal.

Bill Ford, who is the great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford, said in the programme that the Michigan battery plant is a chance for Ford engineers to learn the technology and then use it themselves.

"It (Michigan) is a wholly owned Ford facility. They will be our employees, and all we are doing is licensing the technology. That’s it," he says.

Ford CEO, Jim Farley, said in May that Chinese electric vehicle makers were its main rivals in the sector, and that Ford needs distinctive branding or lower costs to beat Chinese automakers.

"I think we see the Chinese as the main competitor, not GM or Toyota. The Chinese are going to be the powerhouse," he said.