Ford Vietnam sold rusty car parts: expose

In a shocking expose, Vietnamese language newspaper Tien Phong has said US carmaker Ford Vietnam dismantled imported car kits and sold rusting and deteriorating parts to dealers around Vietnam three years ago.

In 2008 the company’s CEO Mike Pease, CFO Bruce Bell, and technical director Balasundaram had sent a confidential report to their superiors about 48 complete knock-down kits that had rusted and would not work if reassembled into cars, the newspaper said.

They had sought permission to strip and sell them to parts dealers.

They included 20 Escape 3.0 cars imported in June 2006, 20 Focus 1.8 and 2.0 (December 2005) cars, with the rest being Mondeos (February 2007).

The company managed to sell many parts at dirt cheap prices, Tien Phong said.

For instance, 40 Focus tires were sold to Western Ford dealer in Ho Chi Minh City’s Binh Tan District for US$8.66 each, while the then market price was $70.

Five Escape engines coded AJ0302200 were sold to Saigon Ford for $456 each instead of the normal $5,000.

Saigon Ford also bought Escape rear visors at $281 a set ($2,700).

Da Nang Ford bought 12 Escape tires at $47 each ($250).

An auto expert said it was against the law to strip complete kits and sell parts.

“If the parts deteriorate, they must be destroyed.

“For instance, tires must be destroyed if they are in stock for more than 12 months.”