Auto Recalls Up in Q1

Automotive recalls rose 9% in the first quarter to the highest volume of any quarter in two and a half years, though the volume of effected units fell.

A Sedgwick report puts the quarterly total at 262 recalls, the most of any quarter since the third quarter of 2021, according to the report, which says that only one other quarter in the past five years has seen more: 2021’s second quarter.

The number of units involved in the recalls dropped 15% quarter-over-quarter to 12.5 million. The average recall size fell from a little more than 61,000 units to just over 47,500.

Electrical systems were the leading cause of recalls for the fifth quarter in a row, and recalls involving electrical systems increased 25% to 66 events, the most in a single quarter in more than five years, Sedgwick said. Air bag issues, though, were the most common reason by volume, representing a quarter of effected units, or three million.

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