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Japanese auto parts maker Takata Corporation has pleaded guilty to fraud and agreed to pay a $US1 billion ($1.3 billion) penalty for concealing a deadly defect in millions of its air bags.
- Automakers affected by the scandal include Toyota, Ford, BMW and Volkswagen
- The airbags have been attributed to at least 16 deaths and 180 injuries
- A chemical in Takata's inflators has been shown to cause the airbags to explode
Takata admitted to hiding evidence that its air bag inflators could explode with too much force, hurling shrapnel into drivers and passengers.
Takata has supplied air bags for Toyota, Honda, Ford, Nissan, BMW, Volkswagen and Daimler among many others, and their inflators have been attributed to at least 16 deaths and more than 180 injuries worldwide.
No injuries or deaths have been reported in Australia in relation to the inflators, although hundreds of thousands of cars have been recalled.
The problem sparked the biggest recall in US automotive history, involving 19 automakers, 42 million vehicles and up to 69 million inflators — worldwide, the total number of inflators being recalled is more than 100 million.
The company's chief financial officer, Yoichiro Nomura, entered the guilty plea on Takata's behalf in federal court in Detroit. He also agreed that Takata would be sold or merge with another company.
The penalties include $US850 million ($1.1 billion) in restitution to automakers, $US125 million ($162 million) for victims and families and a $25 million ($32 million) criminal fine.
Separately, three former executives are charged with falsifying test reports — they remain in Japan.
Takata's inflators use ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion that inflates air bags in a crash.
But when exposed to prolonged high temperatures and humidity, the chemical can deteriorate and burn too fast with the force to blow apart a metal canister.
Meanwhile, plaintiffs in dozens of lawsuits have claimed that Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Ford and BMW had independent knowledge that Takata's air bags were unsafe dangerous, yet continued to use them for years to save money.
"The automotive defendants were aware that rupture after rupture, both during testing and in the field, confirmed how dangerous and defective Takata's air bags were," the plaintiffs' attorneys said.
The auto companies have asserted that they were deceived by Takata and should not be held liable.
Takata's penalty is small compared with the one imposed on Volkswagen, which must buy back cars and pay up to $US21 billion ($27 billion) in penalties and compensation to owners over its emissions-cheating scandal.
AP/ABC
Topics: automotive, corruption, united-states