Maybe Ford just got it all out of its system before the calendar flipped to January.
The main product of American automobiles will perform relatively strongly in 2025, with sales expected to increase year-on-year; however, its operating profits have taken a hit this year.
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2024: 2.08 million vehicles sold, up 4.2%
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2023: 1.99 million vehicles sold, up 7.1%
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2022: 1.77 million vehicles sold, -2.2%
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2021: 1.9 million vehicles sold, -6.8%
Source: Best Selling Cars
For the 12 months ended September 30, 2025, Ford Motor’s EBITDA was US$9.4 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 4.55%.
Declining EBITDA has been an ongoing concern for Ford as it has steadily declined from $12.8 billion reported in 2021.
This year’s tariffs haven’t helped. The company said it would incur more than $1 billion in tariff charges. Still, because Ford makes about 80% of the cars it sells in the U.S. domestically, its tariff burden is significantly lower than that of its competitors.
While tariffs are costly, they aren’t the biggest problem facing Ford going forward.
The recalls are the most costly issue for Ford after a record year and could derail any future growth plans for the company.
Earlier this year, Ford earned the ignominious distinction of issuing 89 recalls through July. The Blue Oval broke a record set by General Motors in 2014, when the company recalled 77 products.
“We are not satisfied with the current level of recalls or the number of vehicles affected. We are working hard to reduce the cost of these recalls,” Chief Operating Officer Kuman Galhorta said on the company’s second-quarter earnings call.
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Ford F-150 Lightning:1,006 (-72%)
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Ford Mustang Mach-E:3,014 (-49%)
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Ford SUV: 55,888 (-3.7%)
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Ford Mustang:11,045 (+7%)
Source: Ford
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Galhota went on to say that most of the recalls “are related to vehicles that were designed several years ago when we were making all the strong process changes across the industrial system.”
But the problem is only getting worse.
Ford has issued nearly 140 recalls so far this year, according to NHTSA, which means the company is on track to more than double General Motors’ record.
While Ford isn’t the only OEM struggling with recalls in 2025, it’s going through its toughest stretch yet.
Ford has recalled 35% of all U.S. vehicle recalls this year, according to the National Highway Traffic Administration. Stellantis, which has the second-highest number of recalls, accounts for only 12%.
On Friday, Ford added to its ignominious record by announcing a recall of 272,645 vehicles in the United States because the loss of parking functions could cause the vehicle to slide sideways, increasing the risk of a crash.
NHTSA said the company is recalling certain 2022-2026 F-150 Lightning all-electric vehicles, 2024-2026 Mustang Mach-E and 2025-2026 Maverick vehicles because the integrated parking module may not lock into the parking position when the driver moves them into the parking position.
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However, this is one of the recalls that can be fixed via a software update, so the parking module software will be updated for free over the air or by dealers.
This is at least Ford’s second recall since December. Two weeks ago, NHTSA announced that Ford was recalling 108,762 vehicles because the tailgate hinges were improperly secured and could detach.
The recall involves certain 2020-2022 Escape and 2025 Escape models. In addition, Ford’s luxury brand Lincoln also recalled nearly 12,000 Lincoln MKT vehicles because the driver and front passenger door trim panels may detach, increasing the risk of a crash.
Ford said the Escape problem occurred during assembly when the hinged cover was not properly secured. Ford’s assembly process has come under scrutiny in the past, and the company says it’s working to address the issue.
Ford is aware of its quality control issues, and Chief Financial Officer Kumar Galhotra addressed the issue in comments on the company’s third-quarter earnings call.
“Improving quality is the biggest driver of closing the cost gap. Better quality
Reduce warranty costs and reduce recalls,” Galhotra said.
Ford said it has made progress and is “on track” to achieve best-in-class performance across its six brands, with three others in the top quartile, based on JD Power warranty analysis data.
The company also reported a $450 million year-over-year decrease in third-quarter warranty costs.
In 2023, Ford will spend $4.8 billion repairing customer vehicles, an increase of 15% from the previous year. According to Warranty Weekly, the company set aside $1,203 for warranty repairs on every car sold that year.
A recent study by iSeeCars.com analyzed 31 years of recall history and found that Ford is the least proactive car brand when it comes to recalls. Less than 30 percent of vehicle recalls over the past three decades were caused by problems discovered by Ford itself.
To address the issue, Ford is launching a new quality assurance program in 2024 that includes “fault testing vehicles” and running them “at extremely high mileage” to catch potential issues before customers do.
At the time, CEO Jim Farley said the new approach would “reduce warranty (costs) over time.”
This article was originally published by TheStreet on December 20, 2025, and first appeared in the Automotive section. Click here to add TheStreet as your preferred source.