The UFC-Que Choisir put Stellantis on notice this Monday, June 24 to present “concrete solutions” for its customers affected by the defective airbag crisis, denouncing “carelessness” which, according to her, the automobile giant has demonstrated so far, reportsAFP.
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“Disastrous management”
“In the absence of a response and satisfactory commitments within one month, UFC-Que Choisir will take all necessary legal action in order to preserve the rights of consumers and defend their collective interest”warned the association in a press release.
More than 600,000 Citroën C3 and DS3 vehicles are being recalled for possible defects in their airbags supplied by the company Takata, which went bankrupt in 2017. Stellantis has called on its customers to no longer use their vehicles as long that it is not repaired.
These airbags are responsible for several serious accidents due to the deterioration of a gas making them potentially dangerous, particularly in regions with hot and humid climates.
“Since the beginning of May 2024, our entire associative network has been […] assailed by calls from thousands of consumers, legitimately worried and exasperated by your, to say the least, calamitous management of this unprecedented recall and immobilization procedure”writes the president of UFC-Que Choisir, Marie-Amandine Stévenin, in an open letter addressed to the general director of Stellantis, Carlos Tavares.
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“Unacceptable”
The association, which accuses Stellantis “carelessness”asks the group “to ensure the systematic and effective implementation of all alternative measures to compensate for the forced immobilization of vehicles […]this obviously finding its origin only in your disastrous management of this industrial crisis, although very largely predictable”.
She also calls on Stellantis to “take without delay, taking into account the seriousness of the fatal malfunction identified, all measures capable of ensuring for the consumer the setting, within three months maximum, of an effective repair date”.
While “vehicles potentially endangering hundreds of thousands of consumers are still likely to circulate in France”the UFC-Que Choisir regretted that “the only response your company really provides to them is to notify them of a “driving stop” […] such a posture is unacceptable”.
Contacted by AFP on Monday midday, Stellantis was not able to react immediately.
Millions of cars from many brands (Mazda, Ford, Honda, BMW) have been recalled since 2014 for changing airbags from the same supplier.
