Ford to name new quality chief to reduce recalls

Ford is coming off another recall-filled year and will name a new quality chief to try to get things under control. The new leader will succeed Jim Baumbick, who will now oversee Ford’s entire vehicle program team, including electric vehicles. The company is also seeking to reduce warranty costs, which have risen sharply this year.

As of early December, Ford was tied with Stellantis as the U.S. automaker with the most recalls this year, with a total of 62. During Jim Farley’s four years at the helm of the Blue Oval, Ford has been making changes to reduce the number of recalls. Recalls, changing production practices and hiring more workers to identify safety issues. Now, Ford is focusing on “execution” and dealing with these issues.

READ: Ford issues four recalls in one day involving Mustang, F-Series and more

“After three years of hard work and addressing all of our deficiencies… we now have everything in place to really see the quality transformation we bring to our customers and our business,” Farley said at a recent event.

Ford has not yet announced the appointment of a new quality chief, but the change should take effect in early 2025. The brand says the changes will allow its teams to “collaborate and work more efficiently to deliver exciting vehicles and software of the highest quality level to consumers”. our customers. “

Not only is Ford concerned about recalls, it’s also concerned about warranty costs. According to Reuters, Ford’s warranty expenses increased by $800 million in the second quarter compared with the same period in 2023. This is mainly due to issues with vehicles launched in 2021 or earlier.

The brand had a particularly rough November, issuing four recalls twice in one day. In mid-November, Ford was fined $165 million by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for failing to issue a timely recall of a faulty circuit board that may have disabled rearview cameras in more than 620,000 Ford and Lincoln vehicles. .