Ford Issues Two Safety Compliance Recalls In North America

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) has issued two safety compliance recalls in North America. The recall will affect roughly 3,000 vehicles in the region.

One safety recall has been issued for 2017 Ford F-150, Explorer and Super Duty vehicles for inadequate welds in driver-seat back frames. In the affected vehicles, a driver-seat back frame that has been improperly welded may fail to comply with certain federal motor vehicle safety standards and may not adequately restrain an occupant in a crash, increasing the risk of injury. Roughly 2,418 vehicles have been recalled regarding this.

The other recall is related to Ford aftermarket chrome exterior door-handle covers. The company has recalled some 2015-17 Ford F-150 and 2017 F-250 to F-550 vehicles equipped with these covers that were purchased as an accessory component from a Ford dealer.

In the affected vehicles, the exterior door handle may not comply with federal motor vehicle safety standards and may experience inertial loads that could cause it to unlatch during a side impact, increasing the risk of injury in a crash. Roughly 551 vehicles have been recalled regarding this issue.

Ford is not aware of any injuries associated with either issue.

The company has been recalling its vehicles regularly to fix safety issues. Frequent product recalls not only reduce consumers’ confidence in a brand, but also add to expenses.

Ford has underperformed the Zacks categorized Auto Manufacturers-Domestic industry over the last three months. The company’s shares decreased 13.4% over this period, while the industry saw a 2.5% decline. Increasing recalls, concerns in certain end markets and lower-than-expected earnings are adversely affecting share performance.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Ford currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked companies in the auto space include Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) , Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE:F) and Adient PLC (NYSE:ADNT) . All the three stocks hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Lear has expected long-term growth rate of 7.1%.

Fiat has expected long-term growth rate of 22.4%.

Adient has expected long-term growth rate of 10.6%.

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