Ford SA CEO recalled to US

His recall, announced by Ford earlier this week, comes days after the Sunday Times reported that South African insurance giants Auto & General and Dialdirect were to take legal action against Ford in connection with fires that have destroyed several Ford EcoSport SUVs.

Ford has claimed it is only aware of one fire incident involving an EcoSport.

Nemeth, in an interview with The Times, denied that his return to the US had anything to do with the Kuga safety recall.

Severe criticism

Ford drew severe criticism for its handling of the Kuga fiasco, which prompted the National Consumer Commission to launch an investigation into the fires and how the company dealt with the incidents.

More than 50 1.6l Kugas manufactured between 2012 and 2014 have been destroyed in fires across the country since 2015.

Ford said the fires were caused by a faulty coolant system, but independent forensic investigators claim this is not the only cause of the fires, one of which claimed the life of Reshall Jimmy in December 2015.

Nemeth, whose replacement, Casper Kruger takes over this week, said his contract had been due to end in June. He said he was returning to the US and would continue to work at Ford. Kruger is the outgoing vice president of Vehicle Sales and Dealer Network at Toyota SA.

Source: The Times