Auto industry may face fines from US regulator

Significance

This comes at the end of a rash of recalls; 2014 saw more recalls involving models of cars at least five years old, affecting more than 60 million vehicles. This calls into question not only auto safety, but whether the industry, as with the financial sector, will face persistent penalty costs.

Impacts

• Existing legal standards will continue to stymie prosecutors seeking to bring criminal charges against auto executives.
• Vulnerabilities of vehicles to hacking will raising wider concerns about the safety of connected car technologies.
• This year is likely to see an increase in auto recalls over the 2014 record.