菲亞特克萊斯勒被罰1.05億美元創紀錄

DETROIT — In their most aggressive crackdown yet on auto safety, federal regulators on Sunday levied a record penalty of $105 million against Fiat Chrysler Automobiles for failing to complete 23 safety recalls covering more than 11 million vehicles.

底特律——在汽車安全方面，聯邦監管機構採取了迄今最嚴厲的打擊行動。由於菲亞特克萊斯勒汽車公司(Fiat Chrysler Automobiles)未能完成涉及1100多萬輛汽車的23宗安全召回行動，聯邦監管機構本週日開出了創紀錄的1.05億美元罰單。

The civil penalty is the largest ever imposed on an automaker for recall violations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, surpassing the $70 million fine imposed last year on Honda for faulty airbags.

這筆民事罰款，是美國國家公路交通安全管理局(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)迄今爲止向召回行動不力的汽車製造商開出的最大罰單，超過了本田(Honda)去年因安全氣囊故障被罰的7000萬美元。

It also represents an escalation of the agency’s efforts to investigate and punish automakers that do not adequately recall and fix defective models.

這也表示，對於未能充分召回並修復缺陷車型的汽車製造商，該機構的調查和懲罰力度有所升級。

“This civil penalty puts manufacturers on notice that the department will act when they do not take their obligations to repair safety defects seriously,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

“這次的民事處罰提醒製造商，如果它們不履行其義務，不重視修復安全缺陷的責任，監管機構就會採取行動，”運輸部部長安東尼·福克斯(Anthony Foxx)說。

In a consent agreement released on Sunday, Fiat Chrysler admitted to violating federal rules requiring timely recalls and notifications to vehicle owners, dealers and regulators.

在上週日公佈的同意書中，菲亞特克萊斯勒承認違反了聯邦規定，沒有及時進行召回並通知車主、經銷商和監管機構。

The steep punishment is a humbling setback for Fiat Chrysler, one of fastest-growing carmakers in the American market. The sweeping consent order also requires the company to buy back some recalled vehicles and submit to outside oversight of its safety practices.

菲亞特克萊斯勒是美國市場增長最快的汽車製造商，這次力度空前的罰款對它而言是一次恥辱性的挫折。這份影響廣泛的協議還要求該公司回購一些召回的車輛，並向外部監督機構彙報安全措施。

In a statement, the automaker acknowledged the safety violations and agreed to the record penalties.

在一份聲明中，這家汽車製造商承認自己違反安全規定，並同意支付這筆創紀錄的罰金。

“We also accept the resulting consequences with renewed resolve to improve our handling of recalls and re-establish the trust our customers place in us,” the company said.

該公司表示，“我們接受這樣的後果，決心改進召回事件的處理方式，重建顧客對我們的信任。”

The agency said the civil penalty was broken down into a cash penalty of $70 million, plus an agreement that Fiat Chrysler would spend at least $20 million on meeting performance requirements detailed in the consent order. Another $15 million penalty will be assessed on the company if the independent monitor, who has yet to be announced, discovers additional violations of safety laws or the consent order.

該機構說，這筆民事罰款分爲幾個部分，第一是7000萬美元的現金罰款，第二是根據協議，菲亞特克萊斯勒會花費至少2000萬美元來滿足同意協議在性能方面的要求。如果獨立監察機構發現該公司有其他違反安全法例或同意協議的行爲，官方將考慮對該公司再處以1500萬美元的罰款。獨立監察機構的身份尚未公佈。

Under the order, Fiat Chrysler is required to buy back as many as 500,000 vehicles with defective suspensions that can cause drivers to lose control. Also, owners of more than one million Jeeps with rear-mounted gas tanks that are prone to fires will be given an opportunity to trade in their vehicles at rates above market value.

按照要求，菲亞特克萊斯勒需要回購多達50萬輛有懸架缺陷的汽車，該問題有可能讓駕駛者失去對車輛的控制。此外，逾100萬輛吉普(Jeep)的後置油箱可能容易發生火災，車主有機會以高於市價的價格賣掉它們。

Mark Rosekind, who took over as the head of highway safety agency last December, said the heavy fine was a direct result of Fiat Chrysler’s prolonged failures to fix recalled models.

自去年12月起擔任公路交通安全局局長的馬克·羅斯金德(Mark Rosekind)說，這次鉅額罰款是菲亞特克萊斯勒長期未能維修被召回車型的直接結果。

“Fiat Chrysler’s pattern of poor performance put millions of its customers, and the driving public, at risk,” he said.

“菲亞特克萊斯勒的某些性能一直存在問題，把數以百萬計的消費者和普通駕駛者置於風險之中，”他說。

The agency is authorized to impose a maximum fine of $35 million for an individual recall that is not completed in a timely manner.

該機構有權對未能及時完成的單個召回案例，處以最高3500萬美元的罰款。

The government’s action is the latest in a series of moves by Mr. Rosekind to turn up the pressure on automakers to fix defective vehicles.

羅斯金德採取了一系列舉措來增加汽車製造商的壓力，促使他們修復車輛缺陷。這次罰款是他的最新行動。

“We need a proactive safety culture in this country,” he told reporters at a recent briefing in Detroit.

“在這個國家，我們需要有一種積極主動的安全文化，”他近期在底特律的一場簡報會上告訴記者。

The agency has come under harsh criticism in Congress and the Transportation Department’s inspector general for lax enforcement of auto safety regulations.

國會和運輸部督察長曾嚴厲批評該機構，稱他們在汽車安全法規上執法不嚴。

The agency is overhauling its internal operations, as well as stepping up its investigations of individual car companies.

該機構正在對內部運作進行全面調整，並加緊開展對個別汽車公司的調查。

The moves, Mr. Rosekind said, were set off by the revelation last year that General Motors had failed for a decade to recall about 2.6 million small cars with faulty ignitions that can suddenly cut engine power and disable airbags. At least 124 deaths have been tied to the defect.

羅斯金德說，他們去年開始採取這些舉措，其導火索是通用汽車(General Motors)十年來都未能召回約260萬小型汽車，這些車的點火器故障可能會突然切斷髮動機動力，令安全氣囊失效。和該缺陷有關的事故已經導致至少124人喪生。

“When you have a horrible tragedy, honestly that’s what triggers big change,” he said.

“老實說，悲慘事故的發生將會觸發巨大的變化，”他說。

In Fiat Chrysler’s case, the government took the unusual step of holding a public hearing earlier this month to focus on 23 separate recalls that date to 2009. At the hearing, federal officials said the company had repeatedly failed to notify consumers of recalls and complete repairs in a timely fashion.

在菲亞特克萊斯勒的案例中，政府採取了不同尋常的行動。本月早些時候召開公開聽證會，重點是始於2009年的23起單獨的召回行動。在聽證會上，聯邦官員說，該公司一直未能通知消費者要召回汽車，也沒有及時完成車輛的維修。

The company’s top safety executive, Scott Kunselman, admitted the automaker had made “mistakes and missteps” in conducting recalls. “The agency has raised some legitimate questions,” he said at the hearing on July 2.

該公司最高級別的安全負責人斯科特·庫斯曼(Scott Kunselman)承認，他們在召回方面存在“錯誤和失誤”。“交通安全局提出的問題很合理，”他在7月2日的聽證會上說。

The automaker has started several new recalls since the hearing, including one on Friday that covered 1.4 million vehicles that are vulnerable to computer hackers.

聽證會後，這家汽車製造商已開始了幾宗新的召回行動，其中一個是上週五公佈的，涉及140萬輛汽車，缺陷是易受電腦黑客攻擊。