Jim Farley Spells Out No. 1 Priority For Ford — No, It's Not Electric Vehicles

Ford Motor Company F CEO Jim Farley reportedly delved into his first priority at the company in a recent meeting with retired engineers.

What Happened: Fixing quality is Farley’s top priority, the Ford CEO said in a speech with the 'Ford Retired Engineering Executives’ group, reported Ford Authority.

“It is the most important initiative in the whole company. And it’s going to take several years. We didn’t lose it in just one or two years,” Farley reportedly said, adding, “Until we fix quality, nothing else matters.”

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Farley’s assertion comes against the backdrop of a poor score received by many Ford vehicles in the reliability survey conducted by Consumer Reports, the report said. The Bronco Sport and Mustang Mach-E were not recommended for 2023 by Consumer Reports and the Explorer and Lincoln Aviator continued to be among the least reliable vehicles, it added.

The survey also showed the Ford brand dropping four spots on an overall basis.

In late November, the company recalled 518,993 vehicles in the U.S. over the issue of cracked fuel injectors.

Ford Fortifying Quality Team: Ford has been hit with many recalls and warranty costs in recent years. Responding to this, the company appointed J.D. Power Vice-President Josh Halliburton as executive director of quality in March.

When Stuart Rowley, a longtime Ford veteran, retired as chief transformation and quality officer last month, the company announced that Jim Baumbick will take over the responsibility of delivering “industry-leading quality” at Ford.

Price Action: Ford closed Friday's session down 6.98%, at $12.12, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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