Ford has improved its standing in the JD Power Initial Quality Study, moving from 23rd place in 2023 to leading the mass-market segment in 2026. The company attributes this shift to a new strategy of hiring and promoting technical specialists, internally referred to as Grey Beards. Currently, the automaker employs around 350 of these experts tasked with identifying vehicle defects before they reach production.
The need for this specialized workforce follows a 2019 restructuring led by former CEO Jim Hackett, which resulted in 7,000 job cuts. The company later faced significant quality issues, including a spike in problems with the redesigned Super Duty in 2023. These defects forced Ford to slow production and hold inventory for manual inspections, leading to losses of $1 billion.
While Ford continues to utilize artificial intelligence for data processing and system assessment, the company emphasizes that human expertise remains essential. Technical specialists now participate in daily problem-solving meetings. Additionally, the company has extended its vehicle testing protocols to simulate 15 years of use or 225 000 miles of operation to ensure long-term reliability.
