Ford halts Transit van production in China over pedal
Following the government mandated sales freeze and subsequent production halt in the U.S. by Toyota for eight of its popular models, Ford has announced that it shares a common supplier for the diesel Transit Classic commercial van in China. Ford announced that it has not received a single report of unintended acceleration, but it will suspend Chinese production of the model until the pedal can be reviewed.
Ford produces commercial vehicles with its partner, Jiangling Motors, for Chinese consumption. Today, Ford announced that it will temporarily halt production of its full-size Transit Classic commercial van after determining that it shares the same parts manufacturer that produced the faulty gas pedals for the Toyota applications.
“Jiangling Motors Company (JMC) has suspended production of one of the Transit models, a light bus vehicle JMC manufactures in Nanchang for distribution only in China,” said a JMC representative.
“While there has been no report of any issue with the Transit, JMC has initiated a review of a pedal assembly part recently sourced from CTS Automotive,” said JMC.
The pedal was only used in the diesel variant of the Transit Classic, of which about 1,600 were produced for Chinese consumption. Ford’s joint venture with Jiangling Motors resulted in the sale of 114,688 commercial vehicles in China last year.
At this time Ford has not placed a recall, it clarified that it is taking a preemptive precaution due to the commonality of the pedal supplier.