Ford Motor Co. announced the results of a new study Thursday that shows the automaker continues to narrow the quality gap with its Japanese competitors.
According to the latest quarterly quality survey commissioned by Ford and conducted by the RDA Group, less than one problem per 1,000 vehicles now separates the Dearborn-based company from its archrival, Toyota Motor Corp. Honda Motor Co. ranked highest in the survey.
Ford cars and trucks averaged 1,427 things gone wrong per thousand vehicles, and the company's average customer satisfaction rating was 75 percent. The industry average was 1,447 things gone wrong per thousand, while the average customer satisfaction rating was 78 percent.
This represents the third straight year Ford has improved in the survey, which looks at vehicle quality after three months of use. Ford did not release the results for other automakers.
The RDA Group conducts similar research for other carmakers; its finding have been a good indicator of how companies will fare in more influential independent studies like those conducted by J.D. Power and Associates.
“We are focusing on quality in a way that we never have,” said Bennie Fowler, Ford's vice president, who noted customers still need to be convinced of the company's improvements. “It's going to take a while for our brand perception to change.”
He said results like those in the RDA study help. They show Ford's quality gains are consistent, not just a lucky aberration.
Analyst Erich Merkle with IRN Inc. agreed Ford needs to work on improving consumers' perception.
“The way that you do that is by enhancing the quality of materials and the design of the vehicles, where consumers have their touch point,” Merkle said. “It's not enough just to have the black-and-white data.”
He said Ford is starting to do that.
In the RDA study, 19 Ford vehicles ranked in the top three for customer satisfaction, quality or both.
The new Ford Edge crossover, Mustang Shelby GT500, Explorer and E-series vans, the Lincoln Mark LT pickup and the Mazda MX-5 Miata all led their segments in the study.
Overall, Ford showed a 10 percent decrease in the number of things gone wrong over the same quarter last year — an improvement that outpaced the industry.
