Ford Super Duty Trucks Are The First Test Of New Quality Promises

Ford is utilizing the very best technology to catch any issues and record them almost immediately. Cameras have been placed across the plant and can identify problems that could go unnoticed by the human eye. Industrial engineer Rochelle Rainford-Miller explained the cameras observe electric components, and so too is the paint application process.

According to Reuters, Kentucky Truck has added 300 quality inspectors and more engineers to find the root cause of defects and design tools to find problems before the trucks reach the end of the line.

大多数汽车制造商都哀叹发现o在哪里f a fault or quality issue, Ford is celebrating this. After all, that's the entire point of this stringent quality control. The automakerhad more recalls than any other companylast year - automotive or otherwise.

Once the vehicles are complete, a small sample of trucks would normally face random spot checks to check for rattles, squeaks, and interface glitches. But that method has not worked well for the brand, so the plant changed things, sending some 28,000 of the new first-gen Super Duty trucks along a 25-mile route near the factory where they can be comprehensively evaluated. Everything must be checked to ensure it works.

The lessons learned here will be relayed to other factories, including those responsible for the upcoming Mustang. Thus, new Ford vehicles should stand up to the demands of daily use with more gumption. Fingers crossed.

When you're trying to build competitive EVs - and take on industry leaders like Tesla - you need plenty of cash for research and development. In 2022, Ford admitted it had lost $2 billionowing to various issues. At the time, CFO John Lawler said, "In the simplest terms, we need to improve quality and lower costs now."

As mentioned, the amount of recalls Ford has suffered in the past year is staggering. Just recently, the company had to recall Bronco and Ranger vehicles over a risk thatthe wheels may detach while driving. Sam Abuelsamid of Guidehouse Insights toldDFPthat if these recalls continue into the electric era, it could put Ford in a bad position.

"Now is the time for them to demonstrate. When you've committed to spending $50 billion or more on the transition to electrification, the last thing you can afford to do is squander another $2 billion or $3 billion on warranty costs," he said.