Ford’s blame game in Kuga scandal is wrong

If ever there was a case for a business school to demonstrate how “not” to handle a potentially long-term public relations disaster, it is Ford South Africa’s stance over an incendiary trend in the Kuga 1.6-litre SUV.

Effectively, the motor manufacturer has yet to make a credible apology for the vehicles that caught fire on South African roads – one of them with fatal consequences. It has effectively passed the problem on to the dealership network.

This is a nuance that will more than likely pass over the heads of the average consumer. In essence, the chain is more complex: the manufacturer selling cars to the dealerships and they, in turn, selling the vehicles on to the end user.

The dealers have, if radio phone-ins and social media are any reliable bellwether, been caught both in the middle and are seemingly ill-equipped to carry through on the public promises made by Ford South Africa on preventative maintenance programmes and courtesy vehicles while any work on any suspect Kuga is undertaken.

The increasingly expensive business of selecting a motor vehicle is a subjective one, at best, and the long-term brand building plays a major role in the eventual choice.

We would suggest that Ford have got this wrong.

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