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Mechanic works on a car
Photo: David Ebener / picture alliance / dpa
According to industry expert Stefan Bratzel, between 2011 and 2020, 331 million vehicles were recalled to workshops in the USA alone because of safety deficiencies in automobiles - "that is, more than twice as many vehicles were recalled than were sold to new vehicles in the same period."
Almost 49 million recalls in 2020 and in the first half of 2021 "show no trend reversal, but reinforce the negative trend," he wrote in a study published on Monday evening.
The production of products by some car manufacturers resembles a banana: "The product only ripens when it reaches the customer."
Car expert Bratzel
The risk of major product recalls has increased significantly due to platforms and common parts across all brands and models, as well as global production networks.
"As a result, a fault discovered late in a kit can lead to millions of vehicle recalls," says Bratzel.
Reasons for growing quality problems are also the increasing technical complexity of cars, shorter development times due to fierce competition and high cost pressure.
"Overall, it is already foreseeable that problems relating to the battery system and software problems will increase considerably," warned Bratzel.
Chevrolet electric vehicles hit hard
The Center of Automotive Management (CAM) has been analyzing the recalls of the major car companies every year since 2005, using the example of the USA.
The US market is a meaningful indicator for the product quality of the auto companies because of its size, the strict safety guidelines and the high risk of legal action, according to the study.
In the first half of 2021, General Motors, Ford and Daimler were particularly affected with a total of 9 million recalls.
The main reason was airbag problems.
At the end of August, GM also called all Chevrolet Bolt electric cars back because of the risk of battery fire and put the cost at $ 1 billion.
In a long-term comparison since 2011, according to the CAM study, Honda performed worst with a recall rate, followed by Mitsubishi, Fiat-Chrysler and Mazda.
Tesla, Jaguar-Land Rover, Volvo and Nissan had the lowest safety recall rates.
Safety recalls are only the tip of the iceberg.
The production of products by some car manufacturers is like a banana: "The product only ripens at the customer," criticizes Bratzel.
beb / dpa