Toyota Adds 2.86M Vehicles Globally to Takata Airbag Recall

Toyota Motor Corporation TM is recalling another 2.86 million vehicles globally to replace faulty Takata airbags. Of these, 1.729 million vehicles are in Europe, 360,000 in Japan and 190,000 in China. The vehicles covered under the recall span 24 models produced between Apr 2003 and Dec 2008.

These recalls are in addition to last week’s recall of 1.36 million vehicles for the same problem. Vehicles covered under the recall include the 2003–2007 Corolla and Matrix, 2005 and 2006 Tundra pickup, 2005–2007 Sequoia SUV, and the 2003–2007 Lexus SC430 convertible.

Concurrently, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. NSANY announced the recall of 198,000 vehicles globally. The vehicles include the Navara, Caravan, and Teana, manufactured between Apr 2007 and Dec 2008.

Last week, General Motors Co. GM announced the recall of more than 243,000 compact hatchbacks in the U.S. and Canada due to faulty Takata airbags. The vehicles covered under the recall include the Pontiac Vibe, produced over the period 2003–2007. These vehicles were designed by Toyota and produced at the jointly owned California factory. These vehicles are identical to the Toyota Matrix, which was previously recalled.

Earlier this month, Honda Motor Co., Ltd. HMC too announced a national recall of 1.39 million 2001–2005 Civic and 2003–2007 Accord models which were sold in high-humidity areas in the U.S. The Japanese automaker is the largest customer of Takata.

These recalls follow the recent declaration by Takata that 33.8 million of its airbags are defective. This will nearly double the number of vehicles recalled due to faulty airbags, marking the largest auto recall in the U.S. The ammonium nitrate propellant in these airbag inflators produced by Takata sometimes burns quickly, and consequently shoots shrapnel at drivers and passengers. This problem has been linked with 8 deaths and more than 100 injuries worldwide.

Toyota currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

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