Ford sales this November were up over last year's, an executive recently confirmed, despite the fact the automaker has seen a rash of recalls recently.

"I think overall our sales are doing well," chief operating officer Mark Fields said December 18. He believes that's in part because Ford has a reputation for quality among consumers.

"But we also understand that's a very precious thing and we're working very hard every day to deliver that quality commitment to our costumers," Reuters quoted Fields.

Ford's latest generation 2013 Escape SUV has seen four recalls since its launch this summer, including two regarding defects that posed a fire risk. The vehicle is nevertheless poised to be a segment best-seller by year's end.

Ford's midsize Fusion sedan was caught up in the most recent fire risk-related recall, too, which prompted the automaker to tell Escape and Fusion drivers to stop driving their vehicles as soon as possible.

"I think on the Escape launch, we've had a few issues," Fields said. "Our approach to any of our issues were very proactive — we go out and fix it for our customers."

The company also recently faced accusations some of its hybrid vehicles were delivering fuel economy numbers much worse than advertised; Ford has said customers are satisfied with the cars' fuel consumption, though, and that some have even bettered the automaker's numbers.

The Ford C-Max hybrid, one of the vehicles whose fuel consumption numbers have been brought into question, actually set a hybrid car sales record in its first two months on the market.

According to Reuters, overall Ford sales in November rose 6.4 percent over sales from the previous November.

(Reuters)