Takata airbag scandal: Government grounds 800,000 additional vehicles

Week after week, the Takata airbag scandal is growing in magnitude. On Tuesday, June 24, the Ministry of Transport announced the grounding of an additional 800,000 vehicles, bringing the total to 1.7 million.

In recent months, airbags from the Japanese company, which has been bankrupt since 2017, have caused several deaths. The latest was that of a 36-year-old driver, killed by an exploding airbag on June 11th near Reims. These repeated accidents are caused by the degradation of the brand's airbags, weakened by time, humidity, and heat. They can then explode, causing serious or even fatal injuries to drivers and front passengers. These defective airbags have caused 18 deaths and 25 injuries, including 16 deaths and 24 injuries in the French overseas territories, according to figures from the Ministry of Transport.

On June 17, the government asked Citroën, the manufacturer most affected by the scandal, to immobilize all C3 and DS3 vehicles requiring airbag replacement, regardless of their production date. A week later, the Ministry of Transport decided to move up a gear by requesting a complete ban on all vehicles equipped with potentially hazardous airbags in Corsica and overseas territories, as well as those built before 2011 in mainland France. More recent vehicles are subject to a general recall without immobilization. In total, 2.5 million vehicles are affected by a recall in France, including 1.7 million with a "stop drive" order, i.e., an obligation to immobilize the car.

Last January, the consumer association UFC-Que Choisir filed a complaint against the manufacturer Stellantis (Citroën's parent company) for deceptive commercial practices, aggravated deception, and deliberately endangering the lives of others. This action has been continued with new complaints filed against the BMW, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and Toyota groups. The association denounces, in particular, " serious deficiencies in the information provided to consumers ," " misleading communication ," and " poor recall management ."

Stellantis' newly appointed management team , led by Italian Antonio Filosa, will have to deal with a never-ending scandal. Since 2014, 50 million cars have been recalled worldwide.