Honda Recalls Millions More Cars Over Airbags

Total Honda recalls now include 24.5 million vehicles worldwide and the total including other car makers is more than 40 million vehicles.

The recall was prompted by an airbag fault which can lead to explosions. Takata, the airbag maker behind the recall, is now responsible for the largest vehicle recall in history, according to Sky News.

Honda’s new CEO, Takahiro Hachigo, who took the helm last month, has previously said he had no plans to help Takata fund recalls.

Honda confirmed last month that a woman died in Los Angeles in September 2014 after a faulty airbag in a 2001 Honda Civic ruptured, firing metal shrapnel at her.

Jewel Brangman, who died from neck and head injuries after being showered with shrapnel in September last year, was confirmed as the eight victim of faulty Takata airbags.

In June, Honda restated its results for the financial year ending in March to take account for additional costs related to recalls. It revised its operating profit for the year ended to £3.2bn from the £3.4bn which it had initially reported in April.

Takata faces multiple class-action lawsuits in the United States and Canada as well as an American criminal investigation and a regulatory probe.

The Japanese firm was threatened with legal action by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last year when it failed to support a country-wide recall of vehicles fitted with its airbags.

Takata has said it expects to return to profit in its current financial year but analysts have warned it has made few provisions for possible extra costs associated with the airbag issues, which date back as far as 2008.

Honda’s shares which are listed on the Nikkei stock exchange in Tokyo were down 0.64 per cent on the news.