The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) broke out the big hammer again. This time, Fiat Chrysler was the nail. NHTSA fined Fiat Chrysler $70M for withholding safety data.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) broke out the big hammer again. This time, Fiat Chrysler was the nail. NHTSA fined Fiat Chrysler $70M for withholding safety data.
The fine is the result of Fiat Chrysler’s admission earlier this year that it withheld data on deaths and injuries, warranty claims, owner complaints and safety issues that it was required by federal law to report. The company withheld several years’ worth of data.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said, “Accurate, early-warning reporting is a legal requirement, and it’s also part of a manufacturer’s obligation to protect the safety of the traveling public. We need [Fiat Chrysler] and other auto makers to move toward a stronger, more proactive safety culture, and when they fall short, we will continue to exercise our enforcement authority to set them on the right path.”
It’s not like Fiat Chrysler didn’t have anything to report, either. The automaker issued 38 different recalls totaling 11M vehicles in 2015. It also entered into a separate settlement with NHTSA regarding the way it handled those recalls. The settlement was $105M.
Fiat Chrysler said, “[I]t takes this issue extremely seriously, and will continue to cooperate with NHTSA to resolve this matter and ensure these issues do not re-occur.”
According to NHTSA, the grand total for which Fiat Chrysler is on the hook is $175M, $140M of which is due in cash and the remaining $35M due in deferred penalties payable only if the automaker doesn’t follow through on tasks in the consent order.
NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind said, “NHTSA’s enforcement actions in recent months have been designed not only to penalize previous actions, but to increase safety going forward.”
Rosekind added that Fiat Chrysler “has expressed a desire to use this situation as a stepping stone to a stronger, more proactive safety posture, and NHTSA is ready to work with [Fiat Chrysler] and the industry as a whole to improve safety.”
Over the past 14 months, NHTSA put the hammer down on five different automakers for failing to meet early warning reporting requirements. The others are, in no particular order, specialty vehicle manufacturers Spartan Motors & Forest River, Triumph motorcycle manufacturer and Ferrari & Honda.
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