Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV share price down, recalls almost 67 000 pickup trucks due to clutch issues

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV announced the withdrawal of almost 67 000 older-model pickup trucks due to alleged clutch issues which have been associated to one death case.

The models include Fiat Chrysler’s Dodge and Mitsubishi pickups, which were manufactured in 2006 and 2007. The death was confirmed by the company to have resulted by the problem.

Fiat Chrysler revealed that as much as 54 558 of the recalled trucks are in the U.S. Other 4 356 of the withdrawn vehicles are in Canada, 7 648 in Mexico and the remaining 257 are located outside North America.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the defect enabled a child to start a 2006 Ram 3500 truck without pushing the clutch pedal. The truck moved forward and as a result stroke and killed another child.

The investigation was opened by the NHTSA in May 2014 after it received a report of the incident. The engineers of Fiat Chrysler found out that clutch interlock switches may be equipped with spring wire that is not the same as the one, which was used in previous switches of these models. The alternate wire may break, the company said, causing the vehicle not to start or in rare cases result in unintended movement when the ignition key is turned.

The seventh-biggest auto manufacturer in the world decided to recall an estimated 66 819 pickup trucks produced in the period 2006 and 2007. The trucks included in the withdrawals are: Dodge Dakota, Dodge Ram 1500, 2500, 3500 and Mitsubishi Raider. Both the Raider and Dakota models are no longer in production.

Fiat Chryslers latest withdrawal campaign is part of what has been a record year for automobile recalls, considering the 60 million vehicles pulled back in the US this year, led by General Motors Co.s withdrawals due to defective ignition switches and cross-brand pullbacks tied to faulty air bags manufactured by Takata Corp.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV lost 0.05% to trade at €9.72 per share at 10:26 GMT in Milan, marking a one year change of +63.50%. Shares closed 1.01% lower yesterday in New York at $11.76. According to the Financial Times, the 20 analysts offering 12 month price targets for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV have a median target of €10.35, with a high estimate of €13.30 and a low estimate of €5.00. The median estimate represents a 6.43% increase from the previous close of €9.73.