Recalls have been big news this year and last year, especially as some unexpected carmakers have been making the headlines. However, figures from motoring website insideline.com appear to indicate that this high profile is mostly down to hype.

The global trend on recalls is actually slightly down, yet perhaps with the rise of the internet and more media outlets, isolated global incidents are being much more widely reported. 15,388,697 vehicles were recalled last year, which may sound a lot, but not when matched against the 37,922,808 vehicles that were recalled in 2000. In reality recalls by carmakers are usually strictly precautionary and the dangers are actually extremely small. However, with the present media coverage, expect more recalls as carmakers play it ultra safe.