The Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration mentioned Thursday Ford Motor has agreed to a $165 million civil penalty after a authorities investigation discovered the automaker did not recall automobiles with faulty rearview cameras in a well timed method.
Underneath a consent order that can final at the least three years, the No. 2 US automaker should pay $65 million in money, spend $45 million on superior knowledge analytics, a brand new testing facility and different tasks and $55 million will likely be held in abeyance topic to complying with the settlement.
The penalty is the second-largest within the company’s historical past.
NHTSA in August 2021 opened an investigation after Ford in 2020 recalled 620,246 automobiles for a rear digital camera subject to find out whether or not the carmaker recalled the automobiles in a well timed trend.
Ford expanded that recall in 2022 and in March including about 24,000 automobiles.
NHTSA mentioned Ford supplied inaccurate or incomplete info, didn’t submit well timed quarterly studies for different recollects and didn’t totally adjust to public availability of car recall info.
Ford mentioned it disagreed with NHTSA’s evaluation.
Ford mentioned it was happy to resolve the investigation and stays “committed to continuously improving safety and compliance at Ford.”
Ford should conduct a radical assessment of all recollects it has filed within the final three years and if wanted, file new recollects.
NHTSA mentioned an impartial third social gathering will oversee and make suggestions on all efficiency obligations and assess the corporate’s compliance with the consent order.
Underneath the order, Ford will maintain quarterly conferences with the NHTSA and is required to develop security knowledge analytics.
Ford should additionally construct an imaging take a look at lab that focuses on low-voltage electronics and put money into a automobile identification number-based traceability system to trace parts on the particular person automobile degree.
NHTSA is requiring Ford to “review and make any necessary changes to its recall decision-making process, including Ford’s ability to analyze data to identify safety-related defects and non-compliances.”
