Today, GM CEO Mary Barra stated that the company has “substantially completed” its vehicle recalls. So far, in 2014 alone, GM has recalled slightly under 29 million vehicles spanning over a decade of manufacturing.
“We’re working hard to make sure that as new vehicles come out, they achieve even higher levels” of quality and safety, Barra stated in an interview today. “We’re very focused to being industry leaders.”
In line with this new focus on safety, GM announced earlier this week that by 2017 they would be releasing a partially self-driving car ready for public use. This vehicle, the company says, is a huge step in securing safety on our roads; Barra says, “[These self-driving cars] will do more than make your driving experience easier and more enjoyable– it will also make it safer by reducing the number of accidents and traffic jams.”
Despite GM’s focus on the future and re-building their shattered reputation, they still must deal with the past. Currently, there are over 100 claims of death associated with GM’s negligent recall culture. This, of course, means a lot of settlements and a lot of court dates.
To help handle these situations, GM has stockpiled over $400 million (a number which may rise) for settlements associated with their faulty ignition switch fiasco. Barra also says, “We’re going to put the customer in the center, and we’re going to take care of any issue and if that means a recall, we’ll do a recall.”
As you can see, despite Barra’s claims that GM has “substantially completed” it vehicle recalls, GM is still a long way away from disposing of their recall problems.
