Ford has many reasons to smile these days when it comes to offering quality products and satisfying customers, as it scores more and more achievements in product innovations, fuel economy and quality.
For the first time in the 28-year history of the Global Quality Research System (GQRS) study, customer satisfaction with Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles has reached its highest level in North America – and now equals Toyota.
In addition, Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles had the lowest number of “things gone wrong” among all automakers – putting Ford in a statistical tie with Toyota for initial quality, and ahead of Honda.
Additionally, according to J.D. Power and Associates, the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands improved in the 2009 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study, the industry’s top study measuring customer satisfaction in design, content, and vehicle performance.
The APEAL Study also showed the Ford brand improving by 17 points and moving up six rank positions among nameplates from last year. The Lincoln brand improved by 18 points climbing two spots in the survey from a year ago. Mercury improved by eight points.
The Ford Flex and F-150, both segment leaders, scored better than the segment average in every category, performing especially well in fuel efficiency and exterior styling. Ford’s new F-150 improved 52 points from last year and scored 16 points better than all redesigned trucks in this survey.
“Ford’s quality rankings continue to climb consistently year after year and we intend to keep the momentum going to become the best in the industry,” said Bennie Fowler, group vice president, Global Quality. “To do so, we’re raising the stakes and redefining what it means to deliver a quality product by giving consumers more than just defect-free cars and trucks; we’re exceeding their expectations with features they would expect to find only in high-priced luxury lines.”
“We couldn’t be more excited about this news - these great product achievements form the foundation of our efforts to create highly satisfied customers across the region,” said Waldo Galan, managing director at Ford Middle East. “We look forward to creating more opportunities for Middle East consumers to experience these improvements firsthand, via the latest additions to our multi-award winning line-up of products."
The GQRS study is conducted for Ford on a quarterly basis by Michigan-based RDA Group. New vehicle owners are asked to report defects or issues as well as rate satisfaction with vehicle quality on a scale of 1 to 10 across an array of vehicle systems and features.
The JD Power & Associates APEAL Study asks customers what they like about the performance, execution and layout of their new vehicle after the first three months it is in service. Customers rate their level of “gratification” on a variety of vehicle attributes, including safety, fuel economy, cargo space and roominess, exterior styling and price.
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About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 205,000 employees and about 90 plants worldwide, the company's automotive brands include Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and Volvo. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford's products, please visit www.ford.com.
Ford Motor Company’s history in the Middle East goes back to over 60 years. The company’s local importer-dealers operate more than 55 facilities in the region and directly employ over 4,000 people, the majority of whom are Arab Nationals. For more information on Ford Middle East, please visit www.me.ford.com.
Ford Middle East is also a responsible corporate citizen in the region, with the Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants, a grass-root level program that has offered 820,000 in grants to over 100 Middle Eastern environmental projects since 2000. For more information, please visit www.me.ford.com.
