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Ford Motor Company has reduced its warranty repairs costs by $1.2 billion over the past two years, according to the manufacturer.
The company attributes these savings to four straight years of quality improvements on Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles. Ford's initial quality is now in a virtual tie with Honda-Acura and Toyota-Lexus-Scion for the 2008 model year, according to the latest U.S. Global Quality Research System (GQRS) study.
The warranty repair rate for Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles in the United States is now almost 50 percent lower than it was in 2004; and Ford F-Series Super Duty and Lincoln Mark LT rank atop their respective segments with fewest "things gone wrong" (TGW) and in customer satisfaction, the manufacturer adds.
Additionally, Ford Mustang GT500 had the least number of TGWs among sports cars, and overall, 18 of 24 Ford domestic brand vehicles posted TGW improvements.
"Ford is following a set of standardized processes around the world in product development, manufacturing and purchasing with a discipline this company has never seen," says Bennie Fowler, Ford group vice president, Global Quality.
"The last 24 months have revealed some of our best quality results," says Curt Yun, director, Global Warranty. "Our new models have been achieving continuously declining warranty repair rates and lower warranty costs, as a direct result of our overall quality improvements."
In the U.S., for example, owners of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles have reported fewer concerns at three years in service for each of the past five years, according to the Global Quality Research System (GQRS) survey, compiled for Ford by the research firm RDA Group.
"We've reached the point where our initial quality is second to none among the full-line manufacturers," says Fowler. "We expect that high quality to be reflected in future high-mileage surveys as our new models age."
As Ford's newest vehicles hit the road, company officials expect warranty claims to continue their downward trend.
"I see the recent $1.2 billion in worldwide warranty cost savings as a compelling reason to continue down this path," Yun adds. "Instead of setting aside those funds to fix cars, we'd much rather invest it in exciting product programs for our customers."
For more information, visit www.ford.com.
