Recall Costs Put Chrysler In The Hole By $334 Million In Third Quarter

Recall costs of more than $850 million pulled Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s third quarter earnings into the red.

The automaker on Wednesday reported a $334 million loss for the third quarter due to recall costs and another special charge that it expects to recoup related to inventory and incremental incentives for vehicles damaged in the Tianjin port explosion on Aug. 12.

The two charges cost Fiat Chrysler more than $1 billion: $850.2 million (761 million euro) pre-tax charge for estimated future recall campaign costs for vehicles sold in prior periods in North America; and a $158.6 (142 million euro) hit due to the explosion in China.