In a move to start a class action against embattled motor manufacturer Ford‚ dozens of complaints from owners whose Kugas have spontaneously ignited were handed over to the National Consumer Commission on Monday.
For months‚ Ford has been fighting a battle with irate Kuga owners whose cars have burnt across the country.
To date‚ 48 Kugas have caught fire. Reshall Jimmy was killed when his 2014 Kuga caught alight while he was holiday in December 2015 in the Wilderness‚ in the Western Cape.
The Times on Monday revealed that Ford knew from January 2015 that there was a potentially deadly flaw with their top-selling family SUV‚ yet the manufacturer only issued an alert in December last year to its customers.
- Revealed: The Kuga warnings Ford ignoredFord was warned for at least a year that its Kuga SUV had potentially deadly problems - but appears not to have acted on the alarm bells.
The newspaper learnt that‚ last year‚ several insurance companies alerted Ford to the problem after reports from fire investigators conducting inspections for the insurance claims showed that there were potential safety issues with the car.
On Monday morning‚ after initially being refused entry into the commission's head office in Pretoria‚ a lawyer for the Jimmy family‚ Rod Montano‚ and sister‚ Renisha Jimmy‚ were received by lawyers for the commission.
The two handed over 46 complaints from Kuga owners across the country. Some of these complaints stretch back to 2013‚ which Ford‚ according to the fire victims‚ has refused to address.
Montano said the meeting was the first step in the right direction for a resolution to this issue.
- Comment: Burning questions that Ford has a duty to answerAs Ford SA and the National Consumer Commission prepare today for a "major announcement" we can only hope that it will be about a complete recall of the Ford Kuga, at least 47 of which have burst into flames.
“Action is being taken. This is what is needed to protect the public from further danger and the horror of what the Jimmy family has endured through the loss of their brother.”
Montano said that while the meeting with the commission would bring hope to other South Africans‚ it would offer little solace or resolution to the Jimmy family.
“That's because of Ford’s persistence that no link has been established between factually and scientific-based reports which indicate that they [Ford] are indeed responsible for Reshall's death.”
Ford and the commission are set to hold a press conference later on Monday afternoon in Pretoria‚ where it is believed that they will announce a safety recall of the Kuga.
– TMG Digital/The Times
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