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Ford Motor Company F is facing an intensified investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) into its BlueCruise hands-free driving technology, following two fatal crashes involving electric Mustang Mach-E vehicles while the system was active.

This week, NHTSA upgraded the inquiry to an "engineering analysis," a step required before considering a recall. The analysis encompasses 2021–2024 model year vehicles, totaling around 129,222 units. It aims to assess the system’s limitations and evaluate drivers’ ability to handle scenarios that exceed the system’s capabilities. During this phase, regulators will examine BlueCruise-equipped vehicles, review additional technical data and analyze crash and non-crash reports. Ford has pledged its cooperation with the investigation.

BlueCruise, introduced in 2021, uses cameras to monitor driver attentiveness and is operational on 97% of highways in the United States and Canada without intersections or traffic signals. NHTSA initially launched its investigation in April 2024 after receiving reports of two fatal crashes involving BlueCruise-equipped Mach-Es.

Per Reuters, one incident occurred in San Antonio in February 2024, when a Mach-E rear-ended a stationary Honda CR-V on a highway, killing the CR-V driver. Another crash in March 2024 involved a Mach-E striking two stationary vehicles in Philadelphia, resulting in two fatalities. Both incidents involved vehicles traveling at over 70 mph at night in BlueCruise mode. Event data showed no braking or evasive action by the drivers or the system before impact. In June 2024, regulators requested detailed information from Ford regarding the crashes, non-crash incidents and technical specifications for BlueCruise and other automation systems. Ford disclosed that 2.5 million Ford and Lincoln vehicles are equipped with partial driving automation features, including Lane Centering Assist and Adaptive Cruise Control.

The investigation focuses on limitations in BlueCruise’s detection of stationary vehicles, particularly at speeds more than 62 mph and under poor visibility conditions. Adaptive Cruise Control, a component of the system, is designed to ignore stationary objects at high speeds to prevent false detections. NHTSA identified additional crashes and near-misses where Ford vehicles failed to detect or respond to stopped or slow-moving objects, raising concerns about the system's safety in certain scenarios. The agency will continue analyzing these issues, including drivers’ reactions in situations that exceed BlueCruise’s capabilities as part of its ongoing investigation.

Ford’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

F currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the auto space are Geely Automobile Holdings Limited GELYY and Blue Bird Corporation BLBD, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GELYY’s fiscal 2025 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 66.62% and 149.31%, respectively. EPS estimates for fiscal 2025 and 2026 have improved by 15 cents and 38 cents, respectively, in the past 30 days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BLBD’s fiscal 2025 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 10.97% and 12.14%, respectively. EPS estimates for fiscal 2025 have improved 18 cents in the past 60 days.

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