Latin NCAP calls for 'Speak up for Safety' meeting with Mary Barra

01.21.2016

Latin NCAP requested today to meet with GM Chairman and CEO Ms Mary Barra to give her a clear understanding of vehicle safety priorities in the Latin American region; priorities not only shared by Latin NCAP but also endorsed at the recent 2nd Global high Level Conference on Road Safety hosted by the Brazilian Government.

On November 16th 2015, Latin NCAP demanded GM to confirm the immediate standard fitment of air bags in the Aveo in Mexico and the removal of all ‘zero star’ cars from GM’s global product range. See letter here. This request was also supported by consumer groups worldwide.

GM replied to Latin NCAP’s request by saying that they take vehicle safety seriously, regardless of the market, and the issues raised are being discussed among their senior leaders. Moreover they mentioned that GM supports the efforts of Latin NCAP to promote enhanced vehicle safety standards.

In the letter sent today to GM, Maria Fernanda Rodriguez, President of the Board of Latin NCAP, states: “Such a meeting would follow the spirit of Ms Barra’s own ‘Speak up for Safety’ initiative and GM’s clear commitment to engagement with stakeholders".

“This was most recently demonstrated on January 15th by Ms Barra’s participation in the launch of the ‘Proactive Safety Principles’ with US Secretary of Transportation, Mr Anthony Foxx. As you will be aware the principles have the objective to “encourage processes that promote steady improvement in vehicle safety and quality within our respective organizations, across the industry, and with other stakeholders”. Latin NCAP fully supports this kind of proactive stakeholder engagement”.

“In these circumstances, I hope that Ms Barra will agree to a meeting so that we can adopt exactly the same proactive approach in Latin America that GM has just agreed to apply in the United States”.

LatinNCAPLettertoJeffreyBoyerJan21.pdf