Toronto, Ontario- New Global Safety Chief, Brian Latouf, promises to improve Hyundai’s safety standards. The promotion is a positional upgrade for Latouf, as he has been upgraded to Global Safety Safety Chief from North American Safety Chief of the auto manufacturer. This promotion represents a company commitment to improved safety as the past ten years have resulted in millions of recalls for Hyundai and Kia (their sister brand). These recalls are related to 100s of engine fire complaints, with over 8 million vehicles being recalled since 2015.
Latouf joined Hyundai in 2019, after a 27-year tenure at GM, where he was director of GM Canada’s Canadian Regional Engineering Centre (CREC) in Oshawa, Ont. During his tenure at GM, Latouf helped repair their safety division after faulty ignition switches malfunctioned causing 124 people to die in a string of crashes.
Latouf has stated that data analysis and testing will be crucial to detect and fix issues quicker than in previous years.
“If you let them linger, risk grows, the safety hazard grows,” says Latouf.
One program that Latouf has implemented at Hyundai, carried over from his time at GM, is the ‘Speak Up for Safety’ program. This program asks employees to report issues with vehicles that may occur upon driving/testing the vehicles. Reports in this program are sent directly to Latouf’s office.
“We’re getting hundreds of these in, and some of them have actually led to recalls,” said Latouf.
With Latouf at the helm, hopefully his track record of safety can help Hyundai produce cars that can be safely released and then stay on the road.
What do you think about Latouf’s promotion? Do you think this can result in improved safety standards for Hyundai?
