The recall issues just keep piling up for General Motors. Following the 1.6 million vehicle recall related to faulty ignition switches announced a few weeks ago, General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) announced today that they were recalling a total of 1.5 million vehicles in three separate recalls. The recall involves recent sport utility vehicles, luxury sedans and full-size vans. The automotive giant claims it has received no reports of accidents or injuries related to any of the three new recalls announced today.
General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) also announced it was taking a $300 million dollar one-time charge relating to all four recent recall incidents.
General Motors CEO Statement
“I asked our team to redouble our efforts on our pending product reviews, bring them forward and resolve them quickly,” General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) CEO Mary Barra said in a statement released earlier today. “That is what today’s GM is all about.”
“We are conducting an intense review of our internal processes and will have more developments to announce as we move forward,” Barra said at the end of the brief statement.
Barra had apologized for how General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) handled the ignition switch recall in an interview last week and said the company was planning to take an “unvarnished” look at the entire production process while making customer safety and satisfaction the top priority. “We are conducting an intense review of our internal processes and will have more developments to announce as we move forward,” she said.
Ignition switch recall developments
General Motors Company (NYSE:GM)’s ignition-switch recall has already prompted criminal and civil investigations, an internal probe by General Motors and even preparations for hearings by Congress. The main issue at hand is why General Motors took so long to do something about a safety problem it has admitted knowing about as early as 2001.
The company has reported when the ignition switch is pulled or twisted, a key could turn off the car’s engine and disable airbags, even when traveling at high speed. General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) has received reports of 12 deaths and 34 crashes in the recalled cars, but auto safety organizations dispute those numbers and are urging a more in-depth investigation.
On Friday of last week, General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) was served court documents relating to what is believed to be the first lawsuit related to the ignition-switch recall. In the suit, customers are claiming their vehicles lost value because of the ignition switch problems. The initial filing for the class action lawsuit was made in a federal court in Texas.
