Jeff Plungis
(Bloomberg) -- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV will pay a $70 million fine for failing to report fatalities, injuries and warranty repairs as U.S. safety regulators step up their enforcement in the wake of lapses by automakers in making required disclosures.
The penalty wraps up a second major investigation of Fiat Chrysler by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this year. In July, the regulator issued a then-record $105 million civil penalty for the company’s lagging efforts to address safety defects.
“Accurate, early-warning reporting is a legal requirement, and it’s also part of a manufacturer’s obligation,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in a statement. “We need FCA and other automakers 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.”
The filings are used by the government to identify patterns and possible safety defects.
After NHTSA informed the company of discrepancies in its filings, Fiat Chrysler told the agency it had found significant underreporting of deaths, injuries and other required information, the agency said in a September statement.
Chrysler Reaction
“FCA US LLC accepts these penalties and is revising its processes to ensure regulatory compliance,” the company said in a e-mailed statement. However, the company said it had identified and addressed the problems using “alternate data sources.”
Previously, the company has said its reporting errors were related to problems with software for extracting information from a company database that didn’t function properly. The company has said there was no attempt to deceive regulators.
