Takata is one of the popular car parts maker based in Japan, and has now filed for bankruptcy protection in the US and Japan. The car parts manufacturer is facing severe liabilities due to its defective airbags which has so far led to more than 17 deaths across the globe. Reports had said that the airbags had defective inflators which expanded with extra force while spraying metal shrapnel.
Takata’s assets have been brought by the US based Key Safety Systems, apart from the ones related to the airbags. KSS chief, Jason Luo said, “Although Takata has been impacted by the global airbag recall, the underlying strength of its skilled employee base, geographic reach, and exceptional steering wheels, seat belts and other safety products have not diminished”. Concerns with the airbags started surfacing since 2007.
There are more than 100 million cars which have airbags manufactured by Takata out of which 70 million vehicles are in the US. Reports said that the faulty airbags were manufactured between 2000 and 2008 in the US factory of Takata. The first incident happened in a Honda Accord in 2004 in Alabama. The explosion had injured the driver. But then Takata and Honda had said that it was just a defect and remained silent over the consequences of exploding airbags for many years.
In 2014 it was reported by a leading daily about the cover up and had led to a legal action against Takata. This was when Takata took the entire responsibility of the defect a year later. Shigehisa Takada, the CEO and chairman of the company, who is the grandson of the founder was severely criticized for mishandling the crisis. However, the cause of the defects have not yet been identified and the company has confessed that it is not clear how many of the airbags are still on the vehicles on the roads.
Photo Credits: japantimes
