The top federal traffic safety regular in the U.S. announced Friday that Ferrari will pay a $3.5 million civil penalty for failing to comply with certain oversight requirements.
DETROIT, MI – The top federal traffic safety regular in the U.S. announced Friday that Ferrari will pay a $3.5 million civil penalty for failing to comply with certain oversight requirements.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the Italian sports car maker, an affiliate of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, failed to submit early warning reports identifying potential or actual safety issues.
U.S. federal law requires major vehicle manufacturers and affiliates to submit the reports on a quarterly basis in order to give NHTSA notice of potential safety concerns.
Ferrari admits it failed to submit required reports to NHTSA over a three-year period, and failed to report there fatal incidents.
Ferrari was previously not required to file reports until Fiat acquired Chrysler, because the luxury automaker qualified as a small-volume manufacturer. Ferrari has been under Fiat's umbrella since 2011.
"The information included in early warning reports is an essential tool in tracking down dangerous defects in vehicles," NHTSA Deputy Administrator David Friedman said in a statement. "Early warning reports are like NHTSA's radar, helping us to find unsafe vehicles and make sure they are fixed. Companies that violate the law and fail to comply will be subject to comparable swift NHTSA enforcement action."
NHTSA also put in place a consent order that requires Ferrari to improve its process for submitting early warning reports. The order, effective immediately, is enforceable in federal court.
Separately, FCA announced earlier this week that the Ferrari brand will be spun off from the company, which is the result of Chrysler Group LLC and Fiat SpA merging.
David Muller is the automotive and business reporter for MLive Media Group in Detroit. Email him at dmuller@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter