Ford’s Success Battered By 615,000 Recall

Ford (NYSE: F) took a $19.5 billion write-off for its EV business. The other thing that has plagued it for years is poor quality manufacturing. Management wants the market to believe that it has recalled older, poorly built vehicles and that the quality issues are behind it. That means the 2025 recalls, which totaled 154 and 13 million vehicles, won’t happen again.

But, it has happened again, and with it, doubts that recalls are not a part of Ford’s regular operations. The No.2 US car company will recall approximately 615,000 vehicles in the U.S. over two separate safety defects involving windshield wiper motors and driveshaft components, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. One can cause a crash.

The larger number of vehicles recalled are the 2020-2022 model-year Ford Escape. Explorer, Lincoln Corsair, and Aviator. All these vehicles were produced between June 6, 2020, and December 15, 2021. The number of these totals 604,533. The balance is 11,431 US vehicles because the driveshaft’s friction weld may fail,

Ford had another recall last month that affected approximately 4.38 million trucks and SUVs. According to Autobody News, it involves “certain 2021-2026 F-150, 2022-2026 Super Duty, 2024-2026 Ranger, 2022-2026 Expedition, 2022-2026 Lincoln Navigator, 2022-2026 Maverick, and 2026 Transit vehicles.”

Notably, some of the vehicles recalled recently were from recent models, which means that Ford’s quality problem is, indeed, not behind it.

There is something wrong with the manufacturing systems and quality control that keeps failing. Ford’s stock price is up 27% over the last year while the S&P 500 is up 17%. Over the long term, the market views the company very differently. In the last five years, Ford’s stock has been flat, while the market is 78% higher. Jim Farley became CEO in October 2020. The stock is a judgment of his tenure.

The widely held view is that the greatest threat to Ford is Chinese EVs. Recalls, given that they represent Ford’s recent past and current situation, are just as severe an issue in the short term.