General Motors finds itself at the center of controversy in India. On Wednesday, the company announced the voluntary recall of 114,000 units of its Tavera model to address issues related to emissions and specifications. Now it appears there was more to the recall than meets the eye.
The Economic Times is reporting that the company admitted that its employees violated testing norms by fitting the multi-utility vehicles sent for emission tests with engines that had already passed inspection. Also, the weight of several of the models was increased to escape the stricter emission standards that lighter vehicles have to comply with.
Now the Detroit-based automaker is moving swiftly to reduce the fallout from the revelations. Sam Winegarden, GM’s vice president for global engine engineering who has been overseeing the development and production of engines across the company’s portfolio since 2004, has been ousted, according to Automotive News. The CFO of the Indian unit, Anil Mehrotra, also has been fired—and still more than 20 other officials may be let go. GM has confirmed that it dismissed several employees for violating company policy, but hasn’t revealed their names.
The Indian government has set up a committee to investigate the matter.