Over the past two years, Ford has achieved significant improvements in vehicle quality, making its vehicles some of the best in the industry in terms of quality. Now that the domestic auto industry is in a slump, Ford isn’t taking any chances. The automaker has set an aggressive new target – best-in-class initial quality for compact cars the company will launch in North America by 2010.

“We aim to launch our new compact vehicles at 800 things gone wrong per 1,000 vehicles,” said Bennie Fowler, Ford’s group vice president, Global Quality. “That’s more than 500 TGWs less than the predicted industry average — and we believe these levels will ensure our upcoming small cars will achieve industry-best initial quality.”

Ford is also targeting a more balanced portfolio of small cars and crossovers. Within the next five years, Ford’s lineup will change dramatically. Trucks and SUVs are expected to account for 38 percent of the company’s mix while cars will grow to about 38 percent. Crossovers will climb to 24 percent.

Ford has already announced plans to convert three light truck plants to small vehicle production. This will allow Ford to meet the demands for fuel-efficient, European-designed small vehicles. Ford will also send an army of UAW workers to Wayne State University to achieve certification as Six Sigma Black Belts (or quality experts).

Via MarketWatch

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