Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn is ranked atop the JD Power 2026 U.S. Initial Quality Study (IQS) for the first time in 16 years.
The company surpassed the industry’s traditional mass market leaders in IQS, climbing to No. 1 from No. 16 in 2023 among mainstream brands in the annual survey of new buyers.
“This is a proud day for everyone at Ford, and the result of years of intensive work across our company,” says Jim Farley, president and CEO of Ford. “Many doubted that an American company with a huge American workforce could compete with the world’s best on quality, let alone reach the top.
“But we put our heads down and worked together every day to deliver for our customers. Today, Ford is not only the most American automaker but also the gold standard for new vehicle quality.”
Thomas King, president of OEM solutions at JD Power, says Ford not only ranked “highest among mass market brands,” but also “the Ford F-150, Ford Mustang, and Ford Super Duty ranked highest in their respective segments.”
It’s the second year in a row that the three vehicles won their segments.
The Ford Escape, Ford Explorer, Ford Expedition, and Ford Maverick also landed among the top three in their segments. That means seven of Ford’s 10 models tested placed in the top three in their segments, the highest percentage of any other automaker.
Ford also ranks second overall among corporations and third overall among brands. Ford improved by 41 fewer problems per 100 vehicles compared with last year, the largest year-over-year improvement among mainstream brands. The momentum extends to Lincoln, which climbs to No. 6 from No. 8 among premium brands.
Ford improved in nearly every vehicle category measured by JD Power, and was driven, in part, by software improvements, higher infotainment quality, and powertrain reliability.
The automaker explains its quality improvement by:
Closer Collaboration: In 2023, it created a unified industrial system. This meant vehicle engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, and quality teams worked side by side under one organization, led by COO Kumar Galhotra.
Building Strong Engineering Safety Nets: Over the past few years, Ford replaced about two-thirds of the senior leaders in its industrial system across engineering, supply chain, and manufacturing. Ford hired roughly 300 veteran engineers, as well.
Integrating and De-risking the Supply Chain: Upfront engineering rigor was paired with a cultural shift in how Ford manages its supplier network. At first, it meant “go see, find it, fix it” missions. Ford teams also went directly onto supplier plant floors to address risks alongside their counterparts.
Closing the Software Gap: Ford overhauled its software quality assurance from the ground up to make modern technology as reliable as the physical hardware. Today, before code ever reaches a vehicle, it is stress-tested through hundreds of thousands of automated scenarios designed to simulate unpredictable, real-world use.
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