GM Ordered New Ignition Switches Long Before Recall

It was bad news for GM today as news broke about an urgent 500,000 order for faulty ignition switches two months prior to reporting the issue to federal safety regulators.

The faulty ignitions lead to a recall of about 2.6 million cars. While the practice of pre-ordering faulty parts is not unheard of, lawyers involved in the class-action lawsuit, will use this information to claim that GM delayed getting important information to the public in a timely manner.

Delphi, the parts manufacturer, produced the emails related to the order surfaced as part of the preparations of a court trial set to begin January 2016. Attorneys for the personal injury plaintiffs are asking GM to release documentation of the orders.

GM has acknowledged the emails noting that it further confirms that their systems needed to be reformed.

GM stock closed sharply down at $31 a decrease of about 1.5%.