Automakers replacing potentially risky airbags in millions of vehicles in France will have to either provide owners who face long delays with replacement vehicles or face “high penalties,” the transport ministry said Tuesday, July 29. The order is among several the ministry has issued to speed up replacements of the faulty airbags made by the Japanese firm Takata.
The transport ministry said the airbags should generally be repaired within 15 days of securing a dealer appointment, or face penalties. Carmakers must also offer appointments for repairing the airbags at home, or have the vehicles towed to a garage, according to a decree to be published Wednesday that was seen by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The ministry is giving them 20 days from Wednesday to provide a first weekly update laying out efforts taken to speed the recalls, including ad campaigns and other efforts to contact owners. The ministry said it could impose penalties of up to €1 million a week if it deemed new measures were necessary.
Most automakers are impacted by the recalls, including Citroën, Volkswagen and Mercedes, though not French heavyweight company Renault.
At least 18 deaths linked to the airbags
The scandal first emerged in 2014, after investigators determined the airbags had caused several injuries and deaths because they exploded when deployed in an accident. At least 18 people in France are suspected to have been killed by the faulty airbags, and the latest recall, in June, included a “stop-drive” order for 1.7 million vehicles.
The Takata brand disappeared in 2018 following a bankruptcy caused by the airbag scandal, which has affected almost every major global automaker and led to millions of cars being recalled.
