Ford Extending MyTouch Warranty - Analyst Blog
November 29 2012 - 9:15AM
Zacks
Following a string of complaints from its customers regarding
the touch-screen entertainment and navigation system, Ford
Motor Co. (F) is reportedly set to upgrade and extend the
warranty on its MyFord Touch system by two years.
After the upgrade, MyFord Touch will feature a more simple
Bluetooth pairing process and can better recognize natural speech
and features. The warranty period for the system has been extended
to 5 years with no limitations on miles traveled, compared with the
earlier warranty period of 3 years and 36,000 miles. The company
has also extended the warranty of the software in the Lincoln
vehicles by 2 years with unlimited miles traveled from 4 years and
50,000 miles.
Ford will be providing the upgraded navigation system to drivers
without navigation by the next month. Vehicles with navigation
systems will receive updates in January. Hybrids, plug-in hybrids
and electric vehicles will be upgraded by the first quarter of
2013. The drivers can either receive the upgrades from the local
dealers or from the company directly, where they have to download
the software from the USB drives provided by Ford.
Ford considers that technological improvement of the vehicles is
essential on a regular basis with emphasis on software and
application. Recently, the company upgraded the voice recognition
capability and navigation in the 3.5 version software. Ford had
earlier upgraded MyFord Touch in March, owing to the slow speed and
complexity associated with the system.
Michigan-based Ford is one of the largest automobile producers
globally. The company is divided into two segments: Automotive and
Financial services.
We appreciate the company’s expansion plan in both the mature and
emerging markets, continuous focus on hybrid vehicles and plans for
launching 6 new Lincoln models in the next 3 years. However, we are
concerned about its sluggish European and South American operations
together with disappointing results from its Financial
Services.
Ford, which competes with Toyota MotorCorporation
(TM), maintains a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term
(1 to 3 months) Hold rating. We have a long-term (more than 6
months) Neutral recommendation on its shares.
FORD MOTOR CO (F): Free Stock Analysis Report
TOYOTA MOTOR CP (TM): Free Stock Analysis Report
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