A comparison of motor vehicle recalls between Brazil and Germany: different approaches and results

Abstract

Failures during the product development process can lead to problems in product quality and reliability, which in turn can cause serious harm to its end-users. When such failures are discovered after a vehicle is already in usage, a safety recall is required, which can incur in potential damage and losses to brand image. Recall rates of multinational companies can be affected by regional law enforcement and quality requirements of local governments. Despite its importance for the safety of end-users, the automotive vehicle recall process in Brazil is little studied by the academy. The main objective of this project was to collect data and clarify how the automotive vehicle recall process is carried out in Brazil and how it could be improved by comparing it with Germany, a country with very advanced regulations in this sector and with a fleet of vehicles similar to that of Brazil. To achieve this goal, the work provided an overview of the available data in both countries, developed a scalable method for comparing recall rates and an analysis of recall rates of the main OEMs in operation. The work concludes using this data to draw insights on how these processes can be improved.