Rabat – Stellantis confirmed the recall of 700,000 vehicles globally on Wednesday after observing 36 incidents, including 12 fires.
Germany’s KBA regulator issued notices on Tuesday saying models made in 2023-2026 should be checked for a defect that allows water into the engine compartment, which would lead to a fire.
The Franco-Italian-American automotive company said in a statement that customer safety was “at the core of its values” and said a free service to resolve the issue would take around 30 minutes.
The recall covers most of Stellantis’s brands including Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, and Jeep.
By model, KBA specified that 295,000 Peugeot 208 and 2008, 126,000 Citroën C3, C4 and C3 Aircross, 124,000 Fiat Grande Panda, 44,000 Alfa-Romeo Junior and 88,000 Jeep Avenger were recalled.
Small hybrid vehicles are seeing the most issues. The thermal engine and electrical motor are too close together and in cases of high humidity, sparks between the particle filler hose and the protective cap of the starter terminal can cause a fire.
The group assured the problem can be fixed by simply installing a larger protective cap.
This marks the latest technical setback for the company following major recalls of Takata airbags and Pure Tech engines in the past two years, as well as having to take significant charges at the beginning of this year after overestimating demand for electric vehicles.
Read also: Stellantis Q4 Report Touts Growth Despite Taking 26bn in Charges
