Uber under scrutiny after it 'knowingly' rented out fire-prone Honda Vezel cars to Singapore drivers

  • Uber leased the Vezel sport-utility vehicles for use in Singapore in April 2016
  • Manufacturer Honda had already recalled the cars due to safety concerns
  • Internal documents show the ride sharing firm was aware of the issue at the time
  • No repairs were made to company vehicles which may have been affected
  • A fire in one car in January melted the interior and left a hole in the windscreen

By Tim Collins For Mailonline and Afp and Reuters

Published: 04:42 GMT, 4 August 2017 | Updated: 23:00 GMT, 4 August 2017

Fire risks in Uber vehicles caused by an electrical fault were known about by the company when it rented them to drivers, it has been claimed.

Uber is reported to have knowingly leased a fleet of more than 1,000 defective to its workers in Singapore.

The ride-hailing firm said it moved to fix the problem after a blaze started in one of the Vezel sport-utility vehicles.

Manufacturer Honda had already recalled the cars due to safety concerns when the California-based company made the purchase.

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Fire risks in Uber vehicles caused by an electrical fault were known about by the company when it rented them to drivers, it has been claimed. More than 1,000 defective Honda Vezel  sport-utility vehicles (pictured) were leased to its workers in Singapore

Fire risks in Uber vehicles caused by an electrical fault were known about by the company when it rented them to drivers, it has been claimed. More than 1,000 defective Honda Vezel  sport-utility vehicles (pictured) were leased to its workers in Singapore

ONGOING PROBLEMS

The Wall Street Journal report is the latest blow to hit Uber.

Authorities in Asia, including Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, have questioned the legality of its apps, which pit private car owners against licensed taxi drivers.

The firm has had to suspend operations on several occasions, as in Macau last month.

In the US, Uber is the subject of a federal inquiry into software that helped drivers avoid authorities in areas within which it did not have official permission to operate.

It is also involved in an intellectual property lawsuit filed by the self-driving car unit of Google parent Alphabet Inc.

The global ride-sharing giant has also been rocked by reports of harassment and discrimination.

Chief executive Travis Kalanick resigned in June, yielding to pressure from investors seeking to clean up a toxic corporate culture.

Managers in Singapore knew the model had been recalled in April 2016 but did not made any repairs to address the problem, according to reports in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) today.

The Vezel was flagged by Honda due to concerns about an electrical component that could overheat and catch fire said the paper, citing internal Uber documents and interviews with people familiar with Uber's operations.

In January this year a fire broke out in one of the rented Vezels after an Uber driver dropped off a passenger, melting the interior and leaving a hole in the windscreen.

The driver was unhurt.

In a statement to MailOnline, a spokesman for Uber said: 'As soon as we learned of a Honda Vezel from the Lion City Rental fleet catching fire, we took swift action to fix the problem, in close coordination with Singapore's Land Transport Authority as well as technical experts.

'But we acknowledge we could have done more, and we have done so. 

'We've introduced robust protocols and hired three dedicated experts in-house at LCR whose sole job is to ensure we are fully responsive to safety recalls. 

'Since the beginning of the year, we've proactively responded to six vehicle recalls and will continue to do so to protect the safety of everyone who uses Uber.'  

Lion City Rentals is affiliated to Uber and rents out vehicles for its drivers in Singapore, where the cost of owning a car is among the highest in the world. 

The WSJ also reported that Uber's lawyers had assessed potential legal liabilities including possibly violating driver contracts.

'There is clearly a large safety/responsible actor/brand integrity/PR issue,' for Uber, an internal report read.

Uber, which has pulled out of massive markets China and Russia, used Singapore as a springboard to grow in populous Southeast Asia.

The region is dominated by Grab, which says it has a 95 percent market share in third-party taxi-hailing and 71 percent in private vehicle hailing. 

Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick resigned in June after pressure from investors seeking to clean up a toxic corporate culture

Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick resigned in June after pressure from investors seeking to clean up a toxic corporate culture

The local incumbent last month said it had raised £1.9 billion ($2.5 billion) to fund further growth.

Grab on Friday said its drivers do not use the Vezel model that was subject to recall.

'(This incident) will receive some attention and may dissuade some people from using Uber, but I don't see it as having a major impact,' said Dane Anderson, a vice president at researcher Forrester.

'The government is very pragmatic and has been friendly to services like this and to business in general. I think it will continue to do what it has always done, which is continue to take a balanced, measured, pragmatic view,' Anderson said.