(Adds new quote from FCA document, background)
By Bernie Woodall
DETROIT, June 4 (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV , pushing back against pressure from U.S. auto safety regulators, has told the Obama administration it sees no reason for new public scrutiny of recalls affecting more than 10 million vehicles.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has scheduled a July 2 public hearing on Fiat Chrysler's handling of 20 recalls for vehicles including Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV models with fuel tanks that can leak and explode during rear collisions.
The hearing would be the broadest the regulatory agency has held to date and follows what NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind has described as frustrated attempts by the agency to get Fiat Chrysler's U.S. unit, FCA US LLC, to move more aggressively to correct defects linked to fires, loss of control, unintended air bag deployments and fuel leaks.
NHTSA instructed FCA to provide recall data by 5 p.m. Monday. On Thursday, it released FCA's 18-page response in which the automaker argued against the need for a hearing, given changes it is undertaking to review and improve what it called an already successful recall program.
"Our overall completion rate is nearly the best in the industry," FCA said in the document.
"FCA US believes our approach to review and identify with NHTSA input and implement changes based on the (lessons learned) obviates the need for a hearing."
NHTSA spokesman Gordon Trowbridge said the hearing would go ahead as planned despite the stance of FCA, formerly known as Chrysler, to determine whether or not Chrysler is meeting its obligations.
Rosekind stepped up NHTSA's enforcement actions after taking the helm in January. The agency withstood blistering criticism from Congress last year over its slowness to act on deadly defects involving General Motors Co ignition switches and Takata Corp air bag inflators.
The FCA recalls earmarked for scrutiny involve Chrysler models dating back to 1993, including Dodge Ram pickups, and Chrysler Town and Country minivans. Various versions of the Grand Cherokee, one of Fiat Chrysler's most popular and profitable models, are included in eight of the 20 recalls.
One of the campaigns cited by NHTSA was the 2013 recall of nearly 1.6 million Jeep vehicles equipped with fuel tanks that could rupture and cause a fire. Chrysler last month told the agency that it had repaired about 21 percent of those vehicles. (Additional reporting by David Morgan in Washington; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Tom Brown)