Defects in pickup trucks and SUVs make the automaker take drastic action against partner factories to try to save the quality of its vehicles
Ford has decided to formally notify its supply chain partners in a bid to stem the reliability crisis that has cemented it as the manufacturer with the highest number of recalls in the U.S. auto industry in recent years. In a change of stance, the company will publicly expose suppliers that present quality failures or lack of cost control, with the threat of banning them from future development projects if the problems are not quickly mitigated.
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The automaker’s top management attributes much of its recent production and quality bottlenecks to external manufacturing failures. An expressive example of this dependence was the recall that affected about 180 thousand units of the Bronco SUV and the Ranger pickup, motivated exclusively by internal seat bolts that left the supplier’s factory without the correct tightening torque.
The impact on the assembly line and brand image has been severe. Another high-profile case involved about 400 thousand large vehicles, such as the F-250 Super Duty pickup. The models had premature breakages in the windshield wipers due to a structural failure of the partner manufacturer Trico. In addition, chronic defects in the rear suspension of the Ford Explorer SUV required mass recalls for the replacement of components prone to excessive rust, also supplied by third-party companies.
To try to get around the operational crisis, Ford is demanding compulsory adherence to its Total Value Management (TVM) plan. The program demands continuous annual cost reductions for the automaker and eliminates clauses for the non-renewal of annual contracts, ensuring greater industrial stability.
Despite the guideline of zero tolerance for errors, the relationship of dependence with the auto parts chain remains complex. Recently, Ford had to inject its own capital into the First Brands group to keep production lines active and mitigate the effects of a fire that occurred last year at the supplier’s aluminum plant. The incident drastically slowed the assembly of profitable F-150 pickup trucks, highlighting the structural weakness that the company is now trying to correct.
