Faraday Future and Great Wall Motors: A Backdoor into the U.S. EV Market

Highlights

• Faraday Future launches Faraday X brand with FX Super One.
• Signifies a strategic approach to bridge Chinese automotive innovation with US market access.
• Acts as a ‘regulatory Trojan horse’ for Chinese automakers, bypassing trade restrictions.
• Enables indirect market entry into the US EV market.
• Part of a broader geopolitical strategy involving:
  • Rare earth elements
  • Digital technology
  • Global automotive value chain integration

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On July 17, China car company Faraday Future’s (opens in a new tab) (NASDAQ: FFIE) second brand, Faraday X (FX), (opens in a new tab) unveiled its first model—the FX Super One, a bold electric MPV co-developed with Wey Gaoshan, (opens in a new tab) the luxury offshoot of Great Wall Motors (opens in a new tab). The announcement was more than just a product reveal: it signaled the quiet activation of Jia Yueting’s (opens in a new tab) “China–U.S. Automotive Bridge Strategy”, with Great Wall Motors as the first major Chinese automaker to attempt a U.S. market reentry through partnership instead of direct entry. Such moves, if they are successful, have profound implications as Rare Earth Exchanges (REEx) suggests below.

So first, what is this China-U.S. Automotive Bridge Strategy” and why is it important?  REEx has studied Chinese strategic blueprints, finding a three-phased trajectory to the absolute top of the global economic pecking order. The monopolization of rare earth element processing and magnets was part of the first phase. The second phase involves the generation of immense revenue via downstream verticals, including electric vehicles, green energy, and the like.  Phase three involves digital currency stewardship.

The move to break into the U.S. market becomes a vital part of this scheme. In this specific case to leverage the strengths of both the U.S. and Chinese automotive industries, creating a “global automotive industry bridge“. This strategy aims to integrate global automotive value chains into U.S. manufacturing, while gradually transitioning to U.S.-based suppliers. The strategy involves a phased approach, initially relying on global components, particularly from China, for a new mass-market brand, while shifting towards domestic suppliers over time.

See the FX Super One—note as of the launch, the FX Super One reportedly drew over 10,000 paid preorders, underscoring pent-up interest in tech-forward, design-heavy electric MPVs.

Why Faraday Future Represents an Opening

Faraday Future once written off as a failed Tesla rival, has re-emerged as a uniquely positioned bridge between China’s industrial might and America’s market access. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the company owns U.S.-based EV manufacturing facilities, holds state and federal EV certifications, and—crucially—has navigated much of the regulatory terrain that keeps foreign OEMs at bay.

Founded by Jia Yueting, a controversial entrepreneur whose vision often outpaced execution, Faraday Future has recently embraced a new strategy: using its American base and vehicle platforms as an open-access channel for Chinese OEMs to test-market and distribute their smart EVs in the U.S. without facing the full force of tariffs, IP scrutiny, or localized production requirements.

In 2024, FF launched Faraday X, branding itself as the “Toyota of smart EVs” with ambitions to deliver “twice the performance at half the price.” It also signed MOUs with four unnamed Chinese automakers, committing to support range-extended AIEVs (Artificial Intelligent Electric Vehicles) and co-develop U.S.-compliant platforms.

FX Super One: Design as Signal

The FX Super One, its first model under the FX brand, is built in an MPV format—a nod to the U.S. family and fleet markets—but with an aggressive digital twist: its full-face LED screen front end is branded as “Super EAI F.A.C.E.” (Front AI Communication Ecosystem). This design language isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s a visual cue that FF and its partners are pushing EVs as AI-first, cloud-native vehicles, not just battery-powered cars.

Strategic Implications for Chinese EV Makers

Partnering with Faraday Future allows Chinese automakers like Great Wall to:

• Bypass direct trade friction (e.g., Trump-era tariffs, Biden’s Buy American rules)
• Leverage FF’s regulatory clearance, dealership relationships, and branding
• Access American consumers via a local intermediary, rather than entering as a foreign entity

This stealth strategy could offer a template for China’s reentry into the U.S. EV market, particularly as geopolitical tensions, export controls, and rare earth weaponization policies reshape global supply chains. REEx monitors such activity as it represents part of a bigger political-economic agenda.

What’s this Access All About?

So Faraday Future has market access to the U.S. because it is a U.S.-incorporated, U.S.-headquartered automaker that already holds the necessary regulatory clearances, production licenses, and brand infrastructure to sell electric vehicles domestically.

This includes:

1. Regulatory Clearance: FF has met the legal and compliance hurdles that foreign automakers—especially Chinese ones—often struggle to overcome, including U.S. DOT and EPA approvals for vehicle sales.
2. Local Presence: Its incorporation and physical presence in California (headquarters and manufacturing facilities) mean it is treated as a domestic entity, allowing it to avoid or minimize the impact of tariffs, foreign investment reviews, and national security scrutiny applied to Chinese firms.
3. Trade Workaround: By allowing Chinese automakers (e.g., Great Wall Motors) to co-develop vehicles under FF’s brand or infrastructure, these firms can circumvent restrictions such as those cited above.
4. Distribution Advantage: FF also offers existing dealership relationships, supply chain channels, and a consumer-facing brand that can be used as a front to quietly bring Chinese vehicle tech and platforms into the U.S. market.

Why It Matters

This makes Faraday Future a strategic conduit for Chinese OEMs—not just an EV startup. It enables what the REEx article rightly calls a “stealth strategy” or even a “regulatory Trojan horse”—providing indirect market entry that avoids the geopolitical baggage tied to China’s direct export ambitions.

Rare Earths Implication

If FF begins sourcing recycled NdFeB magnets or builds local REPM supply chains in the U.S., it could be doubly strategic: helping Chinese companies maintain market presence while complying with U.S. critical mineral sourcing requirements, especially under Pentagon or DOE-aligned procurement frameworks.

Faraday Future isn’t just an automaker—it’s a geopolitical wedge in the EV race. However, remember what REEx has discovered: sales of electric vehicles are part of a far bigger strategy.

Investor Takeaway

Faraday Future may have more strategic value as an enabler than as a standalone brand. Its role as a “regulatory Trojan horse” for Chinese OEMs could make it a critical node in future rare earth magnet supply chain planning, particularly if it begins sourcing domestically recycled NdFeB materials to meet U.S. procurement standards.