Vauxhall under criminal investigation over Zafira fires

Parliamentary report said British carmaker
was ‘too slow’ to investigate cars that burst into flames

One-Minute Read

The Luton-based car manufacturer became aware in September 2014
that there were reports of the multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs)
bursting into flames dating back to 2009, The Independent says.

But Vauxhall didn’t launch a formal investigation into the fires
until August 2015, the news site says. By that time, a total of 161
Zafira fires had been reported. 

That delay was criticised last year in a “damning” parliamentary
report, which accused the manufacturer of being “too slow to begin
an investigation, too slow to address the causes and too slow to
alert drivers of real safety concerns”, The Daily Telegraph reported at the
time.

The series of fires has now attracted the attention of the
government-backed Driver and Vehicle Safety Authority (DVSA), which
has partnered with trading standards officers at Luton Borough
Council to investigate Vauxhall’s handling of the situation, says
Auto Express. 

Although the DVSA had been working with Vauxhall to gather
information on the incidents since October 2017, the agency has now
“turned its investigation of the manufacturer into a criminal one”,
the magazine reports. 

Prior to the inquiry, the carmaker had recalled more than
200,000 Zafira B cars in 2015, and a further 234,000 the following
year, says BBC
News.

A spokesperson for Vauxhall said yesterday that 92% of cars
affected by the fault have now been
recalled.