Are Quality Issues Forcing Ford To Stash Completed Products?

A couple of years ago, Torque News reported that Ford was using various places to stash partially complete vehicles while they awaited various parts and the like. Indeed, at the time – in 2021, when supply chain issues were quite formidable – the Blue Oval was stashing and staging its vehicles not only at its own Dearborn test track but also at an old, unused sports stadium.

Ford Stashing Vehicles Again

Now, it seems, says the Ford Authority (FA), that the automaker is doing it again.  Indeed, it was a trend that continued in 2022 and even later as the automaker placed various vehicles, including the Ford F-150 Lightning. In fact, according to the sources talking with FA, there may be a host of 2024 Ford F-150 pickups being stashed again at the test track.

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No one knows why it is being done. One possibility, says FA, is that supply chain issuers may again impact 2024 F-150 pickups. However, when you think about it, this is unlikely to be the case, as F-150 pickups and F-150 Lightning pickups are on dealer lots now. More to the point is that they may be sitting awaiting quality checks.

Indeed, there could be another reason. FA noted this weekend that Ford was in the process of refreshing the 2024 F-150. That process was stopped from Jan. 25 to 31. It resulted in the brief layoff of about 5,200 auto workers. It also happened at the Kansas City Assembly plant a bit later – from Jan. 25 to Feb. 1 --  where another 4,500 workers were idled temporarily.

Ford Has Reversed Brief Halts

Both slowdowns have now been reversed. When they looked more deeply at the issue, FA found that the brief production pauses were due to a “supplier parts issue,” though the automaker didn’t identify the problem or the supplier.

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FA had noted that since 2023, Ford has “paused production of a few refreshed or redesigned models when it discovered quality issues early in that process.” It is a process that also includes the 2023 Ford Super Duty series. With the Super Duty series, the slowdown has proven costly,” FA notes.

Regardless of the cause, Ford takes a renewed interest in quality seriously. Ford CEO Jim Farley said the automaker is committed to improving its quality. He also indicated that the Blue Oval uses Toyota’s Tundra as Ford’s quality benchmark.

Will Ford Continue Holding Product?

This could easily mean Ford will stash more of its products at its test track until the automaker has met or beaten its quality benchmarks. Or, as FA puts it, the “automaker won’t begin deliveries until it rectifies any potential issues it has discovered early in the production process.”

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It looks like what has happened earlier is repeating itself now, but the automaker is holding on until everything is cleared up.

Ford Motor Photo

Marc Stern has been an automotive writer since 1971. His automotive articles have appeared in venues including Popular Mechanics, Mechanix Illustrated, AutoWeek, SuperStock, Trailer Life, Old Cars Weekly, and Special Interest Autos. You can follow Marc on Twitter or Facebook.