Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne
said he doesn't plan to testify at a regulatory hearing in July to
determine whether the car maker properly handled a series of
recalls covering 10 million vehicles.
The company instead will send representatives, including the
executive overseeing its regulatory compliance division, Mr.
Marchionne told reporters at in event in Detroit on Tuesday
night.
"We're incredibly respectful of the agency and all the work
they're doing," Mr. Marchionne said.
On Monday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said
federal regulators would hold a hearing on July 2 to assess whether
Fiat Chrysler has moved swiftly enough to file notices and address
safety issues on 20 recalls.
The hearing also will cover the recall of 1.56 million
older-model Jeeps involved in fiery rear-end crashes, for which
regulators have criticized Fiat Chrysler for moving to slowly to
repair.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also has
ordered the car maker's executives to produce documents about their
recall performance by June 1. The Italian-American auto maker could
face fines of up to $35 million if it fails to respond fully or
truthfully to regulators' request.
Mr. Marchionne defended the car maker's recall track record,
saying it has done all it can to complete the recalls in a timely
manner and that its repair rate is on par with the industry
average. "One of the things I cannot do is somehow force customers
to come in and bring their cars," he said.
The NHTSA's hardening stance on safety issues signals what he
described as a "new phase of regulatory oversight" for the auto
industry that is likely to be costly and painful. "We're seeing a
new posture being developed by NHTSA," he said. "We're not used to
this."
Fiat Chrysler's handling of recalls has been in the spotlight
for some time now. The car company waited more than a year to fix
Jeep Grand Cherokee and Liberty SUVs linked to fuel-tank fires, and
even when it began notifying customers of the recall, replacement
parts weren't readily available to make the fixes.
A jury in Bainbridge, Ga., in April awarded $150 million in
damages to the family of a 4-year-old boy killed in a fiery
rear-end Jeep crash, a model currently subject to a "customer
satisfaction campaign," not a recall.
Safety regulators now say they could require Fiat Chrysler to
repurchase or replace vehicles affected by the recalls.
When asked if NHTSA is trying to make an example out of the car
maker, Mr. Marchionne replied: "It would be incredibly foolish of
me to second guess their motivations."
"We're going to comply with their request for information," he
added.
Write to Christina Rogers at christina.rogers@wsj.com
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