Tesla topples Ford as most-recalled brand in US in 2024. Check out the worst 10

Tesla has emerged as the carmaker that has recalled the most number of vehicles in the United States this year, snatching the mantle of shame from Ford which had the infamous distinction for three consecutive years. The EV or electric vehicle giant has so far - till December 20 - issued 15 recall orders which cover 5,135,697 units.

As per data compiled between January 1 of this year and December 20 by CarScoops, Tesla has relatively fewer recall orders against its competitors but the number of units impacted by each recall was mostly far more than rivals. At second spot, for instance, is Stellantis with 67 recall orders which has affected 4,722,452 units. Stellantis is the mothership which owns brands like Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Fiat. At the third spot is Ford with 62 recall orders impacting 4,370,701 units.

Honda is at the fourth spot and this has come as a big surprise. Known for reliability, the Japanese car brand has not even been on the top-10 of brands with most recalls in the US over past several years. This year, the company ( plus Acura) issued 18 recall orders covering 3,794,113 units. Next on the list are GM (33 orders for 1,872,521 units), BMW (36 orders for 1,832,968 units), Toyota plus Lexus (16 orders for 1,221,666 units), Kia (19 orders for 1,211,778 units), Hyundai plus Genesis (25 orders for 1,109,978 units) and Volkswagen plus Audi (18 orders for 1,088,407).

Now these rankings may still change as December draws to a close because even one recall from any of these brands that covers thousands of units could see the table positions shift. And with the final week of the month (and year) ahead, carmakers would be keeping fingers crossed.

But not issuing a recall order in the US comes with its own fair share of risk. In the past, car companies have been heavily penalised by NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), a government agency, for not issuing recall orders to check and fix potential issues with one or more car models. So while it is tempting to save face - and brand image - by ignoring suspected faults, the threat of hefty penalties has meant that recall orders are issued regardless.

Recall orders in one particular country has the potential of impacting production meant for another country as well. Take Tesla for example. The company has plants in China and Germany but it also uses its base in the US to export units to other countries like the Netherlands , Lithuania and Ukraine. Ford also exports in huge numbers from the US. The carmaker says one in every seven Ford assembled in the US makes way to foreign markets like Canada, Mexico, China, Puerto Rico and South Korea.

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