Following an internal investigation surrounding violations of company policy, General Motors has dismissed about ten employees across the United States and India, including its head of global engine development Sam Winegarden. According to reports, employees swapped low-emissions engines into the Tavera SUV to pass Indian emissions regulations, actions that led to the stoppage of production and subsequent recall of 114,000 Tavera sport-utility vehicles.
“We take these matters very seriously and hold our leaders and employees to high standards”, said GM spokesman Greg Martin in an e-mailed statement on Friday. “When those standards are not met, we will take the appropriate action to hold employees accountable.”
One of the largest in the country, GM’s recall is its first in India since 1995.
Here’s how this situation appears to have unfolded: on July 18, a General Motors letter informed the Indian government that an internal investigation discovered that employees have manipulated emissions tests for the  Indian-built and sold Tavera over the past eight years to comply with requirements. Then on Wednesday July 24th, General Motors recalled 114,000 Tavera SUVs in India — ranging from the 2005 through the 2013 model year. The automaker said that the recall was to “address emissions and specification issues”, adding that it was “not safety-related”. The exclusive-to-India vehicles were powered by 2.0 liter and 2.5 liter engines.
“Over a period of time some employees of the company engaged in the practice of identifying engines with lower emission which were fine-tuned and kept aside to be used for installation on vehicles during inspection,” according to the Economic Times, which cites GM’s July 18 letter to Indian regulators.
In addition, GM reportedly admitted to the Indian government that its employees had “manipulated” the weight of several models to qualify for less stringent emission requirements.
The situation has resulted in the Indian government opening an investigation into GM India as well as the government’s own internal systems to see if there were systemic errors, willful negligence, or other wrongdoing, according to joint secretary of India’s Ministry of Heavy Industry Ambuj Sharma. A findings report is expected to be completed sometime in August, with General Motors facing the possibility of financial penalties and a discontinuation of production, according to Mr. Sharma.
For its part, General Motors has set up a committee to investigate the circumstances, and has willfully stopped production of the Tavera on June 4th. The automaker also stated that it has already “identified a solution to the issues, performed the required engineering validation, and is awaiting regulatory approvals”.
Sam Winegarden joined General Motors in 1969 as a co-op student at the Buick Motor Division while attending General Motors Institute, now Kettering University. Having worked through the ranks, he has held executive positions at the automaker since 2004.
Comments
I am proud to see that GM stepped forward with this and took the initiative to resolve the issue. I hope that the Indian Government takes this into consideration when deciding what actions/penalties should fall on GM.
Build them in the us ship them to India problem solved!
It’s not that simple Brian, the import duty on imported cars in India is too high. Fully built ones attract about 75% of the price of the car, if you bring it by CKD it is about 50%.
GM (sells cars under the Chevrolet brand) as of now caters to the mass market segment in India, and would not be able to sell much if it is not able to produce its cars locally. Indians, especially those who GM caters to now, are too price conscious.
If the Indian government decides to force GM to stop production in India, I’m afraid the company’s had it.
GM moved quickly to contact the Indian government, inform them of the issue, recall the suspect vehicles and terminate any employees who did not perform to the very highest standards of integrity. India is a very important market for General Motors and the actions of the company were inline with the respect GM has for the Indian consumer. And lets not forget that GM employs many thousands of Indians in it’s manufacturing centers in that nation, partners, IT support and the like. I hope the government in India takes this into account and looks to the long-term when considering possible sanctions.
Let’s not forget that many other manufacturers may turn up in trouble as the Indian government investigates this further. IMO, I think GM was playing by the same “rules” as all the other companies, which is to say – I believe this is a problem far bigger than just GM cheating.