Volvo U.S. truck-bus group to pay $130M penalty for slow recalls

Volvo Group North America will pay $130 million for failing to recall vehicles quickly enough in a consent order issued by U.S. regulators.

The civil penalty follows a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation that found the company failed to recall vehicles in a timely fashion and fell short of other reporting requirements such as notifying owners of recalls and reporting death and injury incidents.

Volvo Group North America is a collective of several manufacturers of heavy-duty trucks and buses. The brand portfolio includes Volvo Trucks, Volvo Penta marine power systems, Rokbak mining equipment, Prevost motor coaches, Nova Bus, Mack, and Arquus military vehicles.

It is a separate entity from Volvo Cars.

Volvo Group North America has agreed to oversight by an independent third-party auditor and will meet regularly with NHTSA to ensure that it addresses any potential safety issues.

It will also develop and implement a safety data analytics infrastructure to enhance its ability to detect and investigate potential safety defects and develop written procedures and training for its employees on compliance with the Vehicle Safety Act, regulations, and the consent order, as well as a training schedule to ensure that its employees are onboarded and trained appropriately.

The consent order has a three-year term and may be extended for up to two additional years.