"We have only just won the first leg of the battle with Ford.” Renisha Jimmy – the sister of a motorist who perished while trapped in his burning SUV – had this to say in reaction to the safety recall of Ford Kugas announced on Monday.
The recall is a bitter-sweet victory for the family. "We have only just won the first leg of the battle with Ford. While we have ensured a recall is done‚ we still have a long fight ahead with Ford‚ which is by no means over‚” she told The Times.
"We are determined to expose the truth‚ which is that Ford has hidden the fact that their cars burn because of manufacturing faults."
She said it had been a year filled with heartache‚ mourning and legal battles. Reshall Jimmy died in December 2015 in his Ford Kuga while on holiday in the Wilderness‚ in the Western Cape.
"But‚ its finally beginning to pay off. As a family we can now finally ensure that no other family suffers the loss that we have. The announcement makes this fight all the more worthwhile."
- Ford SA to recall more than 4,500 Ford KugasMore than 4‚500 Ford Kugas are being recalled for compulsory safety checks after 48 of the family SUVs burst into flames in South Africa and a motorist died while trapped inside his burning vehicle.
Jimmy said the family was now even more focused on getting justice for their brother and other Kuga fire victims‚ involved in a planned legal class action.
She said right from the beginning of their battle‚ all the family had wanted was to get Ford to accept responsibility for the loss of their brother.
"We do not want his death to have been in vain."
Ford South Africa CEO Jeffrey Nemeth said on Monday that the company believed‚ although the investigation was not complete‚ that the Jimmy incident was not an engine fire which had affected as many as 48 other vehicles.
Sources within the National Consumer Commission told The Times that Ford had recently flown two of its Kugas to the UK for an extensive batch of testing to determine what had caused the fires.
Up until now Ford has insisted that a faulty coolant system was causing the engine to overheat and catch fire.
One of the sources said that the Commission had ordered Ford to do the recall last week‚ but that the company's executives had "pleaded" to be given more time.
- 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.
"They cited the chaos it would cause if they had to do it last week. The commission said fine but it had to be announced today."
Another source said that Ford had very little time to do the rectifications.
"If these cars carry on burning after the problems have resolved‚ Ford risks having to do a total withdrawal of the car from South Africa."
The source said that the Commission would do its own investigation and depending on the outcomes the matter would be referred to the National Consumer Tribunal.
"Depending on that outcome this will go to the national regulator for compulsory specifications and the South African Bureau of Standards."
TMG Digital/The Times
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