Fiat Chrysler Automobiles agreed to pay a $70 million fine, accept three years of close oversight by an independent monitor and buy back thousands of pickup trucks as part of a far-reaching consent agreement to settle a U.S. government probe into 23 safety recalls since 2009.
The terms of the agreement signal an effort by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to transform a company that it has viewed a laggard on safety issues into a champion of safety and compliance. They could also set a new bar against which other automakers are measured, magnifying the effects of the deal beyond Fiat Chrysler’s U.S. headquarters.
The deal, announced Sunday evening by the U.S. Department of Transportation, requires that Fiat Chrysler overhaul its recall processes under close oversight from the NHTSA-approved monitor, or face as much as $15 million in additional penalties. It also commits the company to spending at least $20 million on a variety of outreach efforts to consumers and other manufacturers to reinforce the importance of safety compliance and boost response rates for recalls. FCA said buybacks are included in the $20 million.
In addition to the buybacks, Fiat Chrysler will offer trade-in and financial incentives to owners of more than 1 million unrepaired Jeeps whose rear-mounted fuel tanks are linked to several deadly crashes. The combined sanctions amount to a $105 million civil penalty, the largest ever imposed by NHTSA.
