Vauxhall under criminal investigation over Zafira fires

A criminal investigation has been launched into Vauxhall over hundreds of fires that broke out in its Zafira model.

The Luton-based car manufacturer became aware in September 2014 that there were reports of the multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) bursting into flames dating back to 2009, The Independent says.

But Vauxhall didn’t launch a formal investigation into the fires until August 2015, the news site says. By that time, a total of 161 Zafira fires had been reported.

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That delay was criticised last year in a “damning” parliamentary report, which accused the manufacturer of being “too slow to begin an investigation, too slow to address the causes and too slow to alert drivers of real safety concerns”, The Daily Telegraph reported at the time.

The series of fires has now attracted the attention of the government-backed Driver and Vehicle Safety Authority (DVSA), which has partnered with trading standards officers at Luton Borough Council to investigate Vauxhall’s handling of the situation, says Auto Express.

Although the DVSA had been working with Vauxhall to gather information on the incidents since October 2017, the agency has now “turned its investigation of the manufacturer into a criminal one”, the magazine reports.

Prior to the inquiry, the carmaker had recalled more than 200,000 Zafira B cars in 2015, and a further 234,000 the following year, says BBC News.

A spokesperson for Vauxhall said yesterday that 92% of cars affected by the fault have now been recalled.