ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 9, 1996 TAG: 9602090087
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Bloomberg Business News
Automakers recalled a record 17.8 million cars and trucks in 1995 - almost triple the 6.5 million recalled in 1994 - because of safety defects and quality problems, the government said.
More than 8.7 million of the recalls were because of faulty seat belts made by Japan's Takata Corp., according to a separate survey by Ward's Automotive Reports.
The remainder of the increase in recalls stems from the introduction of more new vehicles, a greater attention to details by manufacturers, and cost-cutting by automakers, which shifted responsibility for engineering components to independent suppliers.
``Failures and quality-oriented issues [are] increasing because automakers are pushing the responsibilities to suppliers because of costs,'' said Steve Koslowski, an analyst at Auto Pacific. Koslowski said many of the recalls are for problems that consumers wouldn't even notice.
Excluded from the government's recall estimate are 4 million minivans sold by Chrysler Corp. Under a special agreement, the vehicles are involved in a campaign to replace rear-door latches, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.
The pressure to please consumers has made automakers pay more attention to detail, said Chrysler spokesman Chris Pruess.
About 36 percent of the vehicles were voluntarily recalled by the manufacturer, the government agency said. The remainder were recalled at the urging of the agency.
Light-vehicle recalls for Ford Motor Co., Chrysler and General Motors Corp. rose 65 percent to 7.97 million, based on preliminary figures from a January survey by Wards Automotive Reports.
GM recalled 3.96 million light vehicles; Ford, 1.73 million; and Chrysler, 2.28 million, Wards said.
Asian manufacturers recalled about 7.2 million vehicles in 1995, according to Wards.
``Every manufacturer has had recalls,'' said Chrysler's Pruess. ``In this industry, 10 years ago something that would have been handled by a dealer down the line is something that we wouldn't let go now.''
Recalls usually don't affect earnings because automakers set aside money to cover the costs of recalls and warranties.
There were 305 safety recall campaigns in 1995, the government report said. About 236 were for safety defects and 69 were for noncompliance with federal safety standards.
More than 75 percent of government investigations are sparked by calls to the agency's auto safety hot line, which received more than 800,000 calls from consumers in 1995 - the largest amount ever.
LENGTH: Medium: 57 linesby CNB