Ford SA sorry for Kuga mess

Ford SA CEO and president Jeff Nemeth yesterday apologised for losing the trust of consumers over a debacle, in which a number of Ford Kuga vehicles overheated and caught fire.

Nemeth was in parliament addressing the portfolio committee on trade and industry, the National Regulation for Compulsory Specifications and the National Consumer Commission (NCC).

“I would like to apologise for giving our Ford customers a reason to question their trust in the Ford Motor Company,” Nemeth said.

“We uncharacteristically stumbled at various moments over these past months.”

About 15 000 Kuga sales were recorded in South Africa after being introduced in 2013.

But since early last year, there had been an increase in the number of cases of engine compartment fires in the 1.6 Kuga. This resulted in 4 500 vehicles being recalled in January.

According to Nemeth, 3 200 Kugas had been checked and 2 700 serviced and returned to owners to date.

“Part of the commitment to customer safety is our obligation to deliver an exceptional customer experience in those rare cases when a vehicle is involved in a recall,” Nemeth said.

“While we cannot press rewind, we can assure you we can, must and will do better to re-earn your trust.”

Although remorseful, Nemeth substantiated: “Vehicle fires are rare, but they do happen. According to the Fire Protection Association of Southern Africa, there were 2 128 vehicle fires nationwide in 2014 alone.

“We also noted that these engine compartment fires, while damaging to the vehicles, led to no injuries of any kind, which remains true to this day.”

Ford SA disputed that the death of Reshall Jimmy, 33, was linked to the Kuga fires at the centre of the recall.

Jimmy died after being trapped in his 2014 Kuga, which caught alight while he was on holiday in Western Cape’s Wilderness town in December 2015.

By December 2016, Ford had determined that the underlying issue experienced by Kuga drivers was overheating due to a lack of coolant circulation.

In January, Ford, in consultation with the NCC, announced a recall of the Kuga 1.6 litre vehicles in the market.

“Many believe that Ford did not do enough to communicate with our customers about this issue, but we want to work to re-earn their trust.”

Of the recalled vehicles, none had since experienced overheating issues related to the coolant system problem, “and none have caught fire”, Nemeth said.

He further explained that a phase two recall would be rolled out, in which a new device would be located in the engine to monitor coolant levels. – ANA