General Motors has repaired 47,000 of the more than two million cars it recalled earlier this year for a dangerous ignition switch flaw, the company said according to a USA Today report.
GM has come under fire from lawmakers and regulators for allegedly delaying the recall of 1.6 million of its vehicles that were in some cases 10 years old because the company wanted to avoid paying for repairs. Another 1.3 million cars were later recalled because of a power steering failure that was said to be related to the ignition switch flaw.
GM said this week that 47,000 of the recalled cars have been fixed, and the company said it was looking to pick up the pace, according to the report.
{mosads}”We’re making some big changes in our overall vehicle-recall process, resulting in a larger than normal number of recalls,” Global Vehicle Safety Vice President Jeff Boyer told the paper.
“We’ve redoubled our efforts to go back and expedite matters currently under review,” Boyer continued.
Lawmakers have raked GM officials over the coals because the ignition switch recalls were linked to accidents that caused 13 deaths. The accidents were reported as early as 2006.
GM CEO Mary Barra issued a series of public mea culpas during a pair of contentious congressional hearings in March.
“Today’s GM will do the right thing. That begins with my sincere apologies to everyone who has been affected by this recall, especially the families and friends who lost their lives or were injured. I am deeply sorry,” Barra said at a House hearing where she was grilled by lawmakers for several hours.
The Department of Transportation has fined GM $35 billion for the recall failures, the largest amount that is allowed under current law.
Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said Friday that they were planning to introduce legislation to remove the penalty caps on automakers who are not transparent about recalls in the future.