Now, Hyundai, the larger of the two affiliated Korean automakers, has promoted its North American safety chief to global status — an implicit acknowledgment by the company that it needs to address safety in a more robust way.
Latouf now has in place a safety team at the corporate headquarters in Seoul. And the safety group in North America has grown from 12 employees, when he started at the company, to 40 now. In June 2018, NHTSA said it had received owner complaints of more than 3,100 fires, 103 injuries and one death. Hyundai and Kia wereOne critic, Michael Brooks, acting executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, noted that Hyundai's upgraded safety programs are focused on future vehicles, which Brooks said won't help owners of the company's existing autos.