Uber Knowingly Rented Cars That Were at Risk of Catching Fire to Its Drivers in Singapore, a Report Says Honda recalled its Vezel SUV last year because but Uber continued to lease the cars to drivers.

By Danielle Muoio

This story originally appeared on Business Insider

Reuters/Toru Hanai via BI
Honda's Vezel SUV, pictured here, was recalled in April 2016.

Honda recalled its Vezel SUV last year because it could catch fire -- but Uber continued to lease the cars to drivers in Singapore.

The news comes from a Wall Street Journal report that says internal emails show Uber managers in Singapore were aware of the April 2016 recall but continued to rent the cars to drivers without fixing the defect. It's unclear whether Uber executives in San Francisco or then-CEO Travis Kalanick knew of the recall.

"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," an Uber spokesperson said. "But we acknowledge we could have done more -- and we have done so."

Uber has since introduced a recall protocol for the company and hired three in-house experts to ensure the ride-hailing company is "fully responsive" to safety recalls, the spokesperson said. Uber has promptly responded to six vehicle recalls since the beginning of 2017.

The spokesperson declined to comment on whether Uber management in Singapore was aware of the recall and continued to lease the vehicles.

An Uber driver's Vezel did catch fire on the job after the ride-hailing giant ignored the recall, according to the report. The incident prompted managers in Singapore to add new safety measures and address the issue after the fact.

Uber bought the cars from a dozen auto importers and not directly from Honda, the report noted. Uber is now only purchasing vehicles from authorized dealers who honor recalls contractually, the spokesperson said.

The fire is one of many crises that unfolded while Kalanick held the to job at Uber.

Uber has been under the spotlight since Susan Fowler, a former Uber engineer, published a blog post in February where she alleged that she had experienced gender discrimination at the company and was propositioned for sex by a male manager. Other, subsequent reports described a litany problems plaguing Uber's work culture.

Five of Uber's major investors demanded Kalanick resign in June following the string of scandals. Kalanick's resignation was the culmination of a four-month investigation that resulted in 20 firings and 215 complaints about Uber's work environment.

Kalanick has reportedly been angling to return to Uber, but general counsel Salle Yoo told employees the ride-hailing giant is still looking outward, BuzzFeed News reported. A decision on Uber's next CEO is expected in September.

Danielle Muoio

Reporter

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Starting a Business

Her Business Is Solving the $12 Billion 'Porch Pirate' Problem — Here's How a $300 Product Can Keep Your Packages Safe

Melissa Kieling and her son Brennan Naylor co-founded hyve Security to save customers headaches and retailers money.

Business News

Over 1,300 Google Employees Have Signed a New Petition Asking For Job Security

Google laid off thousands of employees in the past two years, which has left some employees feeling insecure about keeping their jobs.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Business News

Mark Zuckerberg Praises Elon Musk's X Fact-Checking System, Says It's 'More Effective' Than Facebook

Mark Zuckerberg commended X's Community Notes system during a Meta earnings call.

Growing a Business

Why the Number 385 Is the Answer to Building a Solid Go-to-Market Strategy

A successful go-to-market strategy involves three questions, eight pillars and five steps.