A visitor passes a Ford Escape Titanium at an auto show last April.
Greg Baker | AFP | Getty Images
DETROIT – Ford Motor will recall 3 million older vehicles due to possible problems with its airbag inflators, costing the automaker about $ 610 million.
The company confirmed the cost in a filing on Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission after the closing. Ford’s shares fell in the red during after-hours trading, down about 2%. The shares ended Thursday with a 6.2% rise, at $ 11.53 – the biggest close of the stock since June 2018. Ford’s market capitalization is more than $ 45 billion.
In the process, Ford said the expense will be treated as a special item as part of its fourth quarter earnings on February 4. This means that it will not affect Ford’s adjusted earnings before interest and taxes or adjusted earnings per share – items closely watched by Wall Street.
The National Road Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday denied a 2017 Ford petition to avoid recalling vehicles with potentially dangerous airbags, which were produced by car supplier Takata.
The vehicles affected range from models from 2006 to 2012. They include Ford Ranger (2007-2011), Fusion (2006-2012), Edge (2007-2010), Lincoln MKZ / Zephyr (2006-2012), MKX (2007 -2010) and Mercury Milan vehicles (2006-2011).
The recall will affect approximately 2.7 million vehicles in the United States and approximately 300,000 in Canada and elsewhere, the company said.
Takata airbag inflators have been a constant problem for automakers for years. The defect can cause the air bag inflators to rupture, sending potentially deadly metal fragments into the vehicle. The problem is related to the deaths of at least 27 people worldwide and 18 in the United States, according to Reuters. The problem involving more than 67 million inflators is the largest automotive recall in the history of the United States