Though the number of automotive recalls in the first quarter was at its lowest level in more than two years, the number of affected units reached the highest level in the same period.

More than 200 recalls, or about a 17% drop from the fourth quarter, affected 12.2 million units, the second-highest quarterly total in five years, Sedgwick reported. That volume was up 72% from the fourth quarter.

Electrical issues led all causes by both number of recalls and unit volume, resulting in 38 recalls affecting 5.3 million units, though the bulk were concentrated in one recall of 4.4 million units, Sedgwick said. Still, that was the highest quarterly unit volume for the category in 10 years.

While equipment problems comprised the second-leading recall cause at 31 events, back-over prevention systems took that spot by unit volume, taking in about 2.5 million units.

Back-over prevention systems and visibility issues tied for third on the number of recalls at 12 each, visibility causes leading to the third-highest recalled unit volume at just over a million units.

The concentration of recalls among fewer and larger events “matters because it simultaneously compresses dealer capacity, parts availability, and owner outreach and extends the exposure window between defect identification and verified remedy completion,” said George Wray of Borden Ladner Gervais in Sedgwick’s report.

Wray said increasingly software-focused vehicles are leading to problems involving integration, validation and execution more often than isolated component flaws. The shift includes greater volume of issues with electric-vehicle batteries, which can present more risk.

“As recalls become larger, more software-driven, and more operationally complex, manufacturers’ preparation for these risks increasingly determines both the safety outcome and the severity of downstream loss,” he said.

A DIFFERENT STORY: Auto Recalls Sank Last Year