The hits just keep coming for Japanese auto parts maker Takata. After being fined $70 million by regulators over the company’s failure to report airbag defects and losing its largest customer in Honda, Takata now has to say goodbye to some of Toyota’s business.
Toyota president Akio Toyoda says the company will stop using Takata’s ammonium nitrate airbags in its vehicles, The New York Times reports.
The company says it is placing “top priority on ensuring the safety and confidence of our customers.”
On Wednesday, Honda – which made up about 10% of the part maker’s global sales – said it would discontinue using Takata’s airbag inflators in any new models under development and accused the supplier of manipulating test data.
The carmaker said in a statement that it was “deeply troubled” by evidence that suggested Takata “misrepresented and manipulated test data for certain airbag inflators.”
Following Honda’s move, other automakers, including Fuji and Mitsubishi, announced they were considering dropping the part’s maker.
Carmakers’ decision to drop Takata’s products come just a day after the parts maker was fined $70 million by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for its failure to properly alert regulators to airbag issues.
The company has agreed to phase out the use of ammonium nitrate in its inflators by 2018 and faces an additional $130 million fine if it doesn’t comply with NHTSA orders or if new violations are found.
Toyota to Drop Takata as Supplier of Airbag Inflaters [The New York Times]
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist