Daimler and Mercedes-Benz issue recalls on Takata airbags

Embattled German auto giant Volkswagen is having to recall 680,000 cars in the United States owing to possible faulty airbags supplied by Japanese maker Takata, a company spokesman said on Wednesday. “This (340 million euros) is quite a big shortfall but the main message is that the current financial year will not be affected”, said Frankfurt-based Bankhaus Metzler analyst Juergen Pieper who keeps his “buy” recommendation on Daimler’s stock.

In December, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration named a former Justice Department official as a monitor to help regulators oversee one of the biggest and most complex safety recalls in U.S. automotive history.

Takata air bags can inflate with too much force and spew metal fragments. Takata did not change its net profit forecast for the full financial year ending March 31, keeping it to 5 billion yen (42.81 million dollars), after posting a net profit of 2.52 billion yen for the first three quarters.

The company declined to comment on the cost of the recall. More than 24 million vehicles have been recalled in the US because of the problem, which is blamed for 11 deaths worldwide.

Other manufacturers have announced big recalls of cars with Takata airbags over the last few years.

Last week, Honda added another 2.2 million vehicles to its recall while Ford and Mazda called back its Ranger and B-Series trucks, respectively.