A visitor walks past a Ford Escape Titanium at a motor show last April.
Greg Baker | AFP | Getty Images
DETROIT – Ford Motor will recall 3 million older vehicles due to possible problems with their airbag inflatables, which cost the carmaker an estimated $ 610 million.
The company confirmed the cost in a filing Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission after the closing clock. Ford shares fell during the after-hours trading, by about 2%. The stock ended 6.2% on Thursday at $ 11.53 per share – the highest share since June 2018. Ford’s market capitalization is more than $ 45 billion.
In the submission, Ford said the issue will be treated as a special item as part of its fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 4. This means that it has no effect on Ford’s adjusted earnings before interest and tax or adjusted earnings per share. by Wall Street.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday rejected a 2017 petition from Ford to recall the vehicles with the potentially dangerous airbags manufactured by car supplier Takata.
The vehicles affected range from model years 2006 to 2012. These include Ford Ranger (2007-2011), Fusion (2006-2012), Edge (2007-2010), Lincoln MKZ / Zephyr (2006-2012), MKX ( 2007-2010), and Mercury Milan (2006-2011) vehicles.
The recall will affect about 2.7 million vehicles in the U.S. and about 300,000 in Canada and elsewhere, the company said.
Takata airbag blowers have been an ongoing issue for automakers for many years. The defect can cause airbag inflators to break, which could cause potentially deadly metal fragments to fly into the vehicle. According to Reuters, the problem has been linked to the deaths of at least 27 people worldwide and 18 in the US. The problem with the more than 67 million inflatables is the biggest recall in American history