Nissan joins automakers dropping Takata air bag inflators

Toyota is also one of the many major auto companies that did business with Takata but in light of recent events it has also made a decision to drop Takata as an airbag supplier.

“We will continue to put our customers’ safety first and work to replace the inflators in vehicles under recall as quickly as possible”, it said.

Tokyo-based Takata cut its profit forecast for the full fiscal year that will end in March by 75 per cent, to 5 billion yen ($41 million) from 20 billion yen, reflecting the expense of recalls for defective air bags that affect millions of vehicles globally.

[“W]ith customers now distancing themselves from Takata, investors started worrying about how the company can pay all those costs”.

Just last week Honda said that it will stop using Takata’s products in its cars because the company had “misrepresented and manipulated test data”.

Embattled airbag manufacturer Takata has been dealt another blow as more manufacturers announce that they will no longer use the company’s components.

In a report by Bloomberg, Dion Corbett, a Nissan spokesman said, “In line with the recent announcement from the United States’ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, we have chose to no longer use inflators containing ammonium nitrate in airbags for future models”. The inflators in question form only a fraction of its airbag products. Apart from air bags, it also makes other vehicle parts including seat belts and steering wheels. The issue has been linked to eight deaths and over 100 injuries. So far, there are around 50 million vehicles around the world which had been recalled as a result of the issue.

In the meantime, companies such as TRW Automotive, Autoliv Inc. and Daicel Corp are stepping up to offer alternative components to carmakers.

Takata’s airbag defect – thought to be associated with the chemical propellant that helps inflate the devices – can cause them to deploy with explosive force, sending metal shrapnel hurtling toward drivers and passengers.