A spokesperson for Volvo stated that safety is of paramount importance to the company and that they appreciate the opportunity to resolve the matter. The company is committed to having a best-in-class safety organization and has already started making wide-ranging improvements in their North American safety processes and systems.
Professor George Ball of Indiana University, who studies product recalls, believes that the non-monetary aspect of this settlement is more interesting and tells of how NHTSA may behave in the future. He believes that NHTSA is sending a message to automotive manufacturers that they will suffer financially if they do not adhere to their quality responsibilities and, if necessary, NHTSA will step in and direct how the firm makes product quality decisions, including being involved in business process improvements. This is a paradigm shift compared to what is happening at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission as well. Ball states that the Biden administration seems to be taking a much stronger stand in protecting consumers from potentially unsafe products and ensuring that firms recall as often and as quickly as they need to.
