Airbags are the last safety barrier in the event of a major crash in a car. However, Takada airbags have become synonymous with "death airbags" and are expected to reach more than 100 million vehicles worldwide.
Yesterday, the Changjiang Business Daily reporter found that in the first four months of this year, the number of domestic vehicles due to Takata airbag recall reached nearly 100,000, involving 10 brands including Volkswagen, Honda, Acura, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Audi and BMW. However, the current global recovery of repairs is not satisfactory, and some companies have completed repair rates of less than 6%. Not only that, but with the ongoing investigation by the US auto safety regulator, the scope of the recall is expected to expand further.
Some insiders told the Changjiang Business Daily that it is expected that in the second half of the year, both domestic and global, the recalled cars due to the Takata airbag problem will usher in a new outbreak.
100 million vehicles were recalled due to airbag problems
On May 2, Japan’s Takada’s earnings report (March 2015 to March 2016) showed that the company would include an additional “special loss†of 16.6 billion yen (about 1 billion yuan) because of its The recall costs associated with airbags that may pose a risk of death are increasing.
In addition, the company also said it expects to include a loss of about 3.5 billion yen (about 210 million yuan) in the same fiscal year to accumulate product liability allegations related to its defective airbag booster pump. The safety scandal has prompted the company to recall more than 50 million airbags worldwide.
This loss exceeds the annual net profit expected by Japan’s Takada Corporation to be 5 billion yen (about 300 million yuan). The special loss includes a $70 million fine that will be paid to US auto safety regulators. The company was banned from using an airbag booster pump containing non-powdered ammonium nitrate at the end of last year because of non-powdered nitric acid. Ammonium may become unstable and explode when subjected to excessive external forces. This also means that the airbags produced by Takada may expand violently, causing the metal shrapnel to smash in the compartment. In the United States, this accident has been accused of causing 11 deaths and more than 100 injuries. The US auto safety regulator said last month that unless Takada can prove its safety, the company's approximately 85 million unrecalled airbag booster pumps produced and used in US vehicles will eventually be recalled.
In addition, this special loss also indicates that the recall cost of Takata Corporation of Japan is rising sharply. At the same time, the number of vehicles recalled due to the Takata airbag problem is expected to increase from about 60 million to more than 100 million. As the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will decide to expand the recall target in May, the entire recall cost is expected to exceed 1 trillion yen (about 61.1 billion yuan). This has also led to the use of Takada's automakers, or have to deal with further recalls based on Japan and the United States.
Honda recalled cars accounted for 96.4%
According to data released by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, in 2015, a total of 5.458 million recalled vehicles, the recall of Japanese cars due to Takata airbag safety problems exceeded 2.53 million, making Japanese cars the highest number of car recalls. In May and June 2015 alone, Japanese brands including Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Honda and Subaru issued 14 recall notices involving 1.41 million vehicles. In addition, due to airbag and seat belt assembly problems, the number of 134 recalls over the years has reached 4,410,800, ranking second in the total number of defective vehicles recalled in 11 years.
According to statistics from the Changjiang Commercial Daily reporter, in the first four months of this year, the AQSIQ issued a total of 11 recall notices concerning airbag safety issues, recalling a total of 962,588 vehicles.
In these 11 recall announcements, Honda was the most affected. Since February 22, Honda has issued two recall announcements, recalling 533,350 multi-purpose passenger vehicles of Siwei, and 382,090 vehicles from the three models of Fit, Fengfan and S1. Honda has recalled 927,609 vehicles in mainland China this year, accounting for 96.4% of the total recall in April.
Mitsubishi Motors, which is deeply affected by the tampering of fuel efficiency data, is not alone. According to statistics from the Changjiang Commercial Daily reporter, in the first four months of this year, Mitsubishi carried out four recalls due to airbag problems. The total number of recalled vehicles was 31,681.
German luxury cars have not been spared, but the number of recalls is not too large. Among them, Volkswagen recalled imports of Volkswagen Tuwei and Sharan, and FAW Volks recalled 18 imported Audi Q5 and SQ5, BMW (China) recalled. Imported 7 series cars 3115 vehicles.
Problem airbag repair strength is not enough
Despite the frequent recalls of Takada airbags, the outside world still accuses them of insufficient recovery.
According to a recent data submitted to the US auto regulatory agency, Takata's defective airbags account for only a quarter of the approximately 29 million vehicles involved in the US, and some of them are repairing. Far behind other car companies.
Honda Motor Co. is the largest consumer of Takada Airbags. The company has replaced gas generators in 5.4 million related vehicles, more than half of the total recalls in December last year; however, in February this year, the company further recalled 2.3 million vehicles involved.
The Fiat-Chrysler Group has replaced defective gas generators for 736,000 vehicles, accounting for 15% of the total recalled vehicles; Toyota Motor Corporation has completed the replacement of 717,000 automotive gas generators, accounting for 22%.
In addition, Ford Motor Company replaced 149,500 defective gas generators, recalling 21% of its total vehicles in December last year. However, in January this year, the company recalled 361,692 related vehicles.
The BMW Group's Takada's defective airbag gas generator replacement reached 193,300, accounting for 21% of the company's recalled vehicles. However, the company recalled 840,000 vehicles in February this year. BMW also needs to repair the driver's side Takada airbag gas generator, and the current repair rate is less than 2%. It has been approved by NHTSA to obtain an extension.
Some relatively small car companies, such as Mazda Motor Corporation and Subaru Motor Company, a subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Group, have completed a repair rate of less than 6%.
Xiao Yue, an industry insider who has been engaged in automotive research for a long time, analyzed the report of Changjiang Business Daily that with the continuous fermentation of the high-altitude airbag safety problem, the number of vehicles recalled by domestic and global vehicles will continue to rise, and it is expected that a new explosion will occur in the second half of the year. period.
Recent vehicle recalls due to Takata airbag problem
June 2014
Honda, Nissan and Mazda recalled 2.95 million vehicles worldwide.
May 2015
Toyota recalled a total of approximately 5 million vehicles equipped with Takada airbags worldwide.
May 2015
Nissan announced that it will recall 1.56 million Takada airbags worldwide.
February 2016
BMW recalled 840,000 vehicles in the United States and Mazda recalled 1.9 million vehicles.
March 2016
Toyota recalled Takata airbags, involving 356,000 vehicles worldwide
April 2016
Eighty-five million airbags with safety hazards on American cars will be recalled.
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