Overview
- Ford says it relied too heavily on AI and lost tacit knowledge when senior engineers left, a shortfall the company now blames for quality lapses in its vehicles.
- The automaker recorded a record 152 recalls in 2025, which pushed leaders to change course and treat software reliability as a formal engineering discipline.
- Over the last three years Ford has hired, promoted, or rehired about 350 experienced technical specialists and created tighter links between engineering, manufacturing, and supply-chain teams.
- Ford continues to run more than 100,000 automated AI tests while adding a 40-person software QA unit and using veteran engineers to mentor younger staff and improve training data.
- Company leaders point to a drop in recalls to 51 so far in 2026 and a jump to No. 1 in J.D. Power's initial quality ranking as signs of progress, while rivals report different AI results and industry scrutiny of AI-driven design grows.