The Truth About Ford Motor Company (F)’s Recalls

Consumers obviously care about quality and recall issues, and it will take time for Detroit automakers to earn back the public’s trust after years of poor-quality vehicles. By the same reasoning, we can’t expect people to forget years of high-quality imports even though the last few years have been rough for Toyota and Honda. One thing is for sure: Ford and GM are making better vehicles than they were before the recession, and that’s been proven by significantly lower recall numbers and increasing market share.

In addition to the lowered recall numbers lately, Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) is also handling these recalls extremely well. At the consumer level, it’s almost gone unnoticed as Ford has voluntarily recalled this last batch of vehicles, notified the customers promptly, and offered to repair them free of charge.

That’s largely why consumers have shrugged off the recall headlines while shopping at the nearest Ford dealership. For proof of that, the Fusion and Escape have combined for multiple recalls yet have set four straight months of record sales.

Bottom line
As mentioned earlier, last year Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) recalled 1.4 million vehicles and so far this year it’s recalled a little over 700,000. Only time will tell how the rest of the year plays out with recalls, but Ford’s CEO Alan Mulally said that the automaker was focused on quality and that Ford has learned something form each recall.

As long as that last statement holds true, and Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) continues to deal with issues quickly and effectively, it won’t stir up much more than a headline or two. The truth is that Ford and GM aren’t living up to the old stereotypes of making poor-quality vehicles that results in massive recalls – and that’s a welcome headline for investors and consumers alike.

The article The Truth About Ford’s Recalls originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Daniel Miller owns shares of Ford and General Motors (NYSE:GM). The Motley Fool recommends Ford and General Motors. The Motley Fool owns shares of Ford.

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