Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU) Plans To Make Its Repair Recall Procedure Faster

The chief executive officer of Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU), Sergio Marchionne, got back at the Safety Administration of National Highway Traffic the day after it alleged the automobile company of woefully repairing the Jeep SUVs (Sports Utility Vehicle) at a price of 1.56 million.

The deputy administrator of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), David Friedman, on November 20, 2014, criticized the automobile company for the time that it was taking to convince the customers for getting a repair for their jeep SUVs. David also commented that Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU) was taking way too long to bring the trailer parts to the dealers. It is important to note her that Fiat Chrysler has started its repair recall whereby the company plans on installing trailer hitches in the cars to shield the fuel tanks that are rear mounted.

The CEO of fiat wrote a letter to the deputy administrator of NHTSA on Wednesday, November 19, 2014. Sergio assured David that the company is very serious in its commitments for the vehicle safety. The CEO further wrote that David should not be concerned with company’s commitments towards the safety of its customers, for the company will take care of it. Sergio ended the letter by providing up to date information regarding the repair procedure of the company.

On November 21, Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU) informed NHTSA that around 112,829 jeep SUVs have been recalled. These SUVs have 2002-2007 model years. The company notified NHTSA that around 13.2 percent of those vehicles have been fixed.

Moreover, Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU) is also fixing the Jeep Grand Cherokees of 1993-1998 model years. Around 26,352 jeeps out of a total of 746,588 have been repaired. Though the rate if quite low (3.5 percent), it is better than nothing.

According to the company, it is hard to locate and convince the owners of older models, for they do not want to get their older models fixed due to the fact that the remaining lifetime of the vehicle is considerably low.

Scott Kunselman wrote a separate letter to NHTSA, where he commented that the repair rate of Chrysler is not satisfactory for the company. He promised NHTSA that the company will take as many additional measures as needed to ensure that the vehicle parts reach the dealers on time. He further mentioned that the company plans to come up with innovative measures in order to convince the customers for the recall.

Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU) started its repairing process in August 2014. The company claims that it has around 430,000 trailer hitches available for the recall. The company can fix the vehicles at a faster rate if only it can convince the customers to bring the cars to their dealers.

Coming to the stock prices of Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU), the company, on the last trading day of November 23, 2014, started its stocks at a price of $12.26 and closed at a price of $12.24, after hitting the highest price of $12.34. The company has a total market capitalization of $20.06 billion.