Owners of Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, BMW, General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Subaru, and Mitsubishi are recommended by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to act promptly on recall letters to replace Takata airbags. These defective Tokyo-based Takata airbags have affected about 8 million vehicles throughout the United States that are likely to explode in a crash.
Experts warn that this recall may be the largest in history and varies from others before it. Takata controls over 30% of the international market.
“the production logistics of replacing all those defective airbags, while also keeping up with ongoing production demand for new-car airbags, will be challenging to say the least, impossible would probably be a more accurate word.” Says Karl Brauer, senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book.
Kelly Blue Book executive director Jack Nerad is concerned that the recall’s large costs and logistical issues could hinder activity between consumers and car dealerships, and even inhibit innovation in the auto industry.
Takata states they are taking the issue “extremely seriously, and will cooperate fully with the NHTSA and the vehicle manufacturers conducting repairs.”
Industry experts predict the recall to take years to complete and that Takata may have to seek help from its rivals to resolve the issue fully.