What is new tech’s role in automotive recalls?

The number of automotive recalls in the US decreased 12.6% year-on-year to 955 in 2022, according to data from Sedgwick’s 2023 State of the Nation Recall index report. Despite the decline, the number remains high and only three years from the last ten recorded a larger number of events. Europe had fewer recalls at 752 events, but that figure reflected a 31.7% year-on-year rise. The UK submitted half of all European recall notifications that year at 372, followed by Germany (239) and France (72).

As well as posing a safety risk for consumers and other road users, recalls cost the industry billions of dollars every year. Cracking down on the cause of these problems and the trends behind them is essential for effective strategy planning and risk assessment.

Teething problems

“Regardless of industry, any time you see new technology there will be things that need to be worked out,” says Chris Occleshaw, Sedgwick’s International Product Recall Consultant. Trends around connectivity, digitalisation and electrification are rapidly introducing new innovations in vehicles, creating plenty of opportunity for teething problems.