DETROIT — Ford Motor Co.’s product growth and buying boss says he is happy with the automaker’s current new-vehicle launches, regardless of supply delays for a few of the most eagerly anticipated fashions, and that high quality points are falling from year-earlier ranges.
Preliminary deliveries of the Bronco SUV, initially due this spring, have been pushed back to summer due to COVID-19-related provider points, Ford mentioned final month. Final week, the automaker mentioned shipments of “a number of hundred” Mustang Mach-E crossovers may very well be delayed as long as eight weeks for extra high quality checks.
Not solely are the delays irritating for purchasers who plunked down deposit cash months in the past to safe their place in line, they’re probably problematic for a corporation that’s beneath heightened scrutiny to efficiently launch new autos after quality issues sank profits in 2019.
However Hau Thai-Tang, Ford’s vp of product growth and buying, instructed Automotive Information that the problems are “very typical” of any new- automobile launch and may not have been observed however for the added transparency created by Ford’s new on-line reservation system.
“As a result of we did on-line reservations, and we took them very early within the course of, our skill to actually forecast a supply date wasn’t very exact,” he mentioned. “We have had to return to these clients to regulate the timing based mostly on how issues are going. General we have been very pleased with the launches thus far. If you consider this final yr, we had three huge launches, and we hit all of these launch dates and ramp quantity curves just about to plan after we adjusted for the COVID shutdown.”
Thai-Tang mentioned stories of latest F-150 pickups parked round vegetation in Michigan and Missouri are usually not associated to the launch and are a standard a part of Ford’s build-and-hold course of, and that they don’t impression supply of manufacturing autos to clients. Early metrics for the F-150 and Mach-E are constructive, he mentioned.
“We’ve got connected-vehicle knowledge now, so we’re capable of see in actual time a few of the initial-quality outcomes,” he mentioned. “To this point the run price at zero months in service, we’re seeing about 45 p.c decrease high quality claims this yr than the identical interval final yr. It is one other proof level the method is working.”
The Mach-E delay, Thai-Tang mentioned, stems from an “industrialization situation” with a single provider he declined to call. It is not in contrast to the Bronco state of affairs, attributable to issues with roof supplier Webasto.
“In each circumstances, they’re complicated points with instruments that had been put in with abroad assist,” he mentioned. “It was difficult by COVID absenteeism, however we’re on the appropriate path.”
Thai-Tang mentioned Ford has seen no noticeable drops in deposits following the delays and that Ford probably will proceed the web ordering system for future autos due to the higher transparency for purchasers.
“That is turning into the norm,” he mentioned. “You’ll be able to order one thing on Amazon, they usually’ll inform you precisely the place it’s. I believe that is one thing the shoppers are going to anticipate with their interactions with automotive OEMs as properly.”