New quality study shows Ford is second to none
• Ford catches Honda in initial quality, putting it in statistical tie at the top with Toyota and Honda.
• Ford’s vehicle quality improved 8 percent versus last year.
• Every new car and truck launched with improved quality versus its predecessor.
The quality of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brand vehicles soared to the top of the charts equaling that of Toyota and Honda, according to the first quarter 2008 U.S. Global Quality Research System (GQRS) study conducted by RDA Group of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
The study shows Ford’s domestic (US) brands improved 8 percent versus last year with a combined average of 1,284 things-gone-wrong (TGW) per 1,000 vehicles during the first three months of ownership. This performance is statistically equivalent to the 1,250 TGW level of Honda and Toyota.
“Last year we tied with Toyota, and this year our quality performance is as good as industry-leading Honda’s too,” said Mark Fields, Ford’s president of The Americas.
“Our world-class quality is one of the most important aspects of our turnaround in North America.
Fields added: “This consistently strong quality improvement should offer today’s customer renewed confidence, setting the stage for important new products like Ford Flex, which is launching this summer.”
Hussein Murad, Sales and Marketing director of Ford Middle East said: “This is another great achievement for Ford, Lincoln and Mercury proving that our continued efforts in raising the quality bar is paying off. This recognition gives further boost to our recent launches and is a great build up towards our upcoming product introductions, especially with the Ford Flex and Fusion and the Lincoln MKS.”
The company earned best-in-class honors in two important engineering functions: interiors, which includes such areas as trim, seats and instrument panel appearance; and electrical, which includes entertainment systems. Ford tied for best-in-class in two other functions, paint and vehicle engineering, which includes such areas as ride and handling and cabin quietness.
Additionally, Ford’s domestic brands pushed customer satisfaction up one point to 77 percent.
“There is an unprecedented level of teamwork at Ford. Everyone from the top floor to the plant floor is working together to deliver the highest quality vehicles for our customers,” said Bennie Fowler, Ford’s group vice president of Global Quality. “We are extremely proud to be among the industry’s quality leaders. But that’s not why we’re in the game. We want sole possession of first place, and we will keep working to earn it.”
A total of 15 Ford, Lincoln, Mercury vehicles are ranked in the top three of their respective segments for either TGW performance, customer satisfaction or both.
The following models are segment leaders:
• Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 – TGW for sports car
• Ford Five Hundred – customer satisfaction for large car
• Ford Sport Trac – customer satisfaction for medium traditional utility
• Mercury Milan – TGW for midsize car
• Lincoln Navigator – TGW and customer satisfaction for large premium utility
The new 2008 Ford Taurus (called Five Hundred in the Middle East) and Mercury Sable (called Mercury Montego in the Middle East) both recorded quality levels that equate to less than one problem per vehicle, as did the Volvo S80 (947). The Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ were close, with 1,030 TGW and 1065 TGW, respectively.
The Five Hundred also led a string of impressive new vehicles launched in 2007. Five Hundred showed a 33 percent quality improvement compared with the product it replaced. The new Ford Escape improved 16 percent over the out-going model.
In fact, 36 of 40 Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo and Mazda nameplates improved this year versus 2007.
The 2008 first quarter U.S. GQRS study, which RDA Group conducts for Ford, asks customers of all major makes and models to comment on troubles and rate their overall satisfaction with their three-month-old vehicles. The survey includes vehicles registered from September 2007 through November 2007.
