Ford tops JD Power quality ranking after four-year overhaul

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Ford topped JD Power’s mainstream quality study, beating brands like Subaru.

Jim Farley credits a four-year culture shift for the surprise result.

Just three years ago, Ford sat in 15th place among mainstream brands.

Ford chief executive Jim Farley is celebrating the company being named the top mainstream brand in JD Power’s recent Initial Quality Study, and he’s pinning the win on a four-year campaign to fix what was broken.

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The study , which analyzes problems experienced in the first 90 days of ownership of new vehicles, showed that Ford experienced an average of 152 problems per 100 vehicles. Not only was this enough for Ford to beat out the likes of Lexus, Nissan, Buick, Hyundai, and Subaru, but it also represented a massive improvement over 2023, when Ford ranked 15th among mainstream brands.

Read: Ford Went From Recall King To JD Power’s Top Mainstream Brand For Initial Quality

“Oh boy, this is a big day for Ford ,” Farley declared after the results were announced. “We’ve worked really hard for four years to be an overnight success story. It’s been an incredible journey over the last several years. We have completely transformed all of our plants and our quality operating system.”

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Admittedly, the study provides only a snapshot of new vehicle ownership and does not analyze problems owners experience after the first 90 days. In addition, Ford has issued 51 recalls alone this year, more than double any of its competitors. However, Farley told Yahoo! Finance the automaker’s warranty costs fell last year and will continue to decline this year. He also said, “recall costs are going down,” and “this will be a big financial story for the company too.”

Ford Now Obsessed With Quality

Farley said Ford had to change its culture to match the quality of its competitors, particularly those from Japan and Germany. Now, Ford’s workers are “completely obsessed with all the data,” Farley describes, stating that “we look at every defect and understand why it happened.”

Also: Ford Asked AI To Build Better Cars, Then Rehired Humans To Fix What AI Broke

Ford hasn’t been solely focused on improving the quality of its vehicles. During the same interview, Farley spoke about the company’s plans for more affordable models, stating it plans to launch five or six of them, starting with its new electric pickup priced at less than $30,000. He also revealed that Ford can now match BYD on battery cost thanks to the work of its skunkworks team in California.

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