Ford Fined $53k In Australia After Spending $4.5 Million To Fix Misleading Mustang Mach 1 Brochure

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC), the nation’s top consumer watchdog, has fined Ford of Australia AU$53,000 ($38,511 USD at current exchange rates) for printing brochures with incorrect information and allegedly misleading customers. But that’s only the start.

The brochures were published at various times between October 2020 and April 2021 online and in print and gave incorrect information about the availability of a number of features for the Mustang Mach 1.

The ACCC alleges that the brochures falsely asserted that the Mach 1 was available with rear parking sensors, LED fog lamps, Mustang Mach 1 floor mats, ambient lighting in the door pockets, and a Torsen limited-slip differential. Some versions of the brochure also allegedly claimed that the car was available with adaptive cruise control, which it is not.

Read More: Ford Australia Makes A Mistake In Mach 1 Brochure, Pays Big To Make Up For It

“The performance characteristics of the Ford Mustang Mach 1 were an important selling point, so these claims about key features of the Mach 1 vehicle may have led some consumers to buy the car who may otherwise have opted to purchase another vehicle,” said ACCC chair Rod Sims.

In addition to the penalties Ford has agreed to pay to the ACCC, it will embark on an improved compensation offer to consumers who bought the Mustang Mach 1. The campaign will cost the automaker an estimated AU$4.5 million ($3.27 million USD), reports Australia’s Drive.

“We began investigating this issue after a number of consumers complained to us about the Mustang Mach 1 brochures and, as a result of ACCC intervention, Ford improved its compensation offer to hundreds of affected consumers,” said Sims.

As part of the improved compensation offer, consumers who bought a Mustang Mach 1 before August 17 (which amounts to almost all of them, per the ACCC) will be offered one of two choices. They can either return their vehicles for a full refund or receive $5,400 in compensation as well as three years of free scheduled servicing and a track day experience at a Supercars event featuring, among other things, free admission to the event and a ride in one of Ford’s race cars.

Consumers who bought their vehicle after August 16, 2021, can not return their vehicle for a full refund but are offered the $5,400 in compensation, servicing, and track day.