菲亚特克莱斯勒被罚1.05亿美元创纪录

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——在汽车安全方面，联邦监管机构采取了迄今最严厉的打击行动。由于菲亚特克莱斯勒汽车公司(Fiat Chrysler Automobiles)未能完成涉及1100多万辆汽车的23宗安全召回行动，联邦监管机构本周日开出了创纪录的1.05亿美元罚单。

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.

这笔民事罚款，是美国国家公路交通安全管理局(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)迄今为止向召回行动不力的汽车制造商开出的最大罚单，超过了本田(Honda)去年因安全气囊故障被罚的7000万美元。

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

这也表示，对于未能充分召回并修复缺陷车型的汽车制造商，该机构的调查和惩罚力度有所升级。

“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.

“这次的民事处罚提醒制造商，如果它们不履行其义务，不重视修复安全缺陷的责任，监管机构就会采取行动，”运输部部长安东尼·福克斯(Anthony Foxx)说。

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.

在上周日公布的同意书中，菲亚特克莱斯勒承认违反了联邦规定，没有及时进行召回并通知车主、经销商和监管机构。

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.

菲亚特克莱斯勒是美国市场增长最快的汽车制造商，这次力度空前的罚款对它而言是一次耻辱性的挫折。这份影响广泛的协议还要求该公司回购一些召回的车辆，并向外部监督机构汇报安全措施。

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

在一份声明中，这家汽车制造商承认自己违反安全规定，并同意支付这笔创纪录的罚金。

“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.

该公司表示，“我们接受这样的后果，决心改进召回事件的处理方式，重建顾客对我们的信任。”

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.

该机构说，这笔民事罚款分为几个部分，第一是7000万美元的现金罚款，第二是根据协议，菲亚特克莱斯勒会花费至少2000万美元来满足同意协议在性能方面的要求。如果独立监察机构发现该公司有其他违反安全法例或同意协议的行为，官方将考虑对该公司再处以1500万美元的罚款。独立监察机构的身份尚未公布。

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，菲亚特克莱斯勒需要回购多达50万辆有悬架缺陷的汽车，该问题有可能让驾驶者失去对车辆的控制。此外，逾100万辆吉普(Jeep)的后置油箱可能容易发生火灾，车主有机会以高于市价的价格卖掉它们。

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月起担任公路交通安全局局长的马克·罗斯金德(Mark Rosekind)说，这次巨额罚款是菲亚特克莱斯勒长期未能维修被召回车型的直接结果。

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

“菲亚特克莱斯勒的某些性能一直存在问题，把数以百万计的消费者和普通驾驶者置于风险之中，”他说。

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

该机构有权对未能及时完成的单个召回案例，处以最高3500万美元的罚款。

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.

罗斯金德采取了一系列举措来增加汽车制造商的压力，促使他们修复车辆缺陷。这次罚款是他的最新行动。

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

“在这个国家，我们需要有一种积极主动的安全文化，”他近期在底特律的一场简报会上告诉记者。

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

国会和运输部督察长曾严厉批评该机构，称他们在汽车安全法规上执法不严。

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

该机构正在对内部运作进行全面调整，并加紧开展对个别汽车公司的调查。

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.

罗斯金德说，他们去年开始采取这些举措，其导火索是通用汽车(General Motors)十年来都未能召回约260万小型汽车，这些车的点火器故障可能会突然切断发动机动力，令安全气囊失效。和该缺陷有关的事故已经导致至少124人丧生。

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

“老实说，悲惨事故的发生将会触发巨大的变化，”他说。

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.

在菲亚特克莱斯勒的案例中，政府采取了不同寻常的行动。本月早些时候召开公开听证会，重点是始于2009年的23起单独的召回行动。在听证会上，联邦官员说，该公司一直未能通知消费者要召回汽车，也没有及时完成车辆的维修。

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.

该公司最高级别的安全负责人斯科特·库斯曼(Scott Kunselman)承认，他们在召回方面存在“错误和失误”。“交通安全局提出的问题很合理，”他在7月2日的听证会上说。

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.

听证会后，这家汽车制造商已开始了几宗新的召回行动，其中一个是上周五公布的，涉及140万辆汽车，缺陷是易受电脑黑客攻击。