Skip to main content

Takata Files For Bankruptcy In Japan And The US

Embattled Japanese airbag supplier Takata has officially filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan and the United States.

The company, which supplied VW with airbags, said Monday it would sell off the majority of its key assets to Key Safety Systems Inc. of Lansing, Michigan. The company paid $1.59 billion for nearly all of Takata’s global assets, save for some of the operations related to its defective airbags.

Takata’s airbags were the subject of the largest automotive recall in U.S. history. In 2013, the company issued a recall for vehicles equipped with airbags that used ammonium nitrate in the inflation process. The company said the airbags may explode with too much force, sending shrapnel into the cabin and potentially injuring vehicle occupants. At least 16 deaths and 180 injuries worldwide were linked to the faulty airbags.

The supplier made matters worse when it was discovered it had purposely withheld information in regards to the recall and altered airbag test data. It pleaded guilty to federal wiretapping charges in February and agreed to pay a $1 billion fine. A federal grand jury also indicted three Takata executives for their role in the scandal in January.

With Key Safety Systems now in charge, the airbag recall will be held by a reorganized Takata, the American supplier said. Components needed to fix affected vehicles will continue to be produced through to 2020, at which point Takata’s operations will begin to wind down entirely. In a press conference Monday, CEO Shigehisa Takada said it was necessary to enter bankruptcy protection to ensure it had the cash on hand to handle the recall.

“If things are left as is, we are aware of risks that we may not able to raise fund and to continue stable supply of products,” he said. “In light of the management environment we face, the state of negotiations with the sponsor candidate and carmakers, and the external expert committee’s opinion, we have decided today to file for bankruptcy protection.”

[Source: Automotive News]

This article first appeared on AutoGuide

The post Takata Files For Bankruptcy In Japan And The US appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2sdVvny
via IFTTT

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Watch: The Stig Drives (nearly) Seven Generations of Golf GTI

With Volkswagen announcing “major” updates to the Golf, it seems an appropriate time to look back on what we’ve had so far. And who better to guide us through the rich history of the most popular European car ever made than Ben Collins, the former Stig? Some say he’s never met a GTI he doesn’t love, and that he can’t grow any of his own facial hair. All we know is … Ben Collins is actually a pretty solid presenter. Working his way through seven generations of the GTI (skipping over the Mk6) Collins tells us a little bit about each one and matches each mark to its corresponding facial hair craze. The Mk1 GTI for instance, is light and quick, but can lose traction under hard acceleration (in heavy rain). Despite that, Collins calls the Mk1 a “pure gem.” The Mk4, meanwhile, is a powerful return to form after the perhaps too sensible Mk3. Collins ends in the only way he could, with the Mk7, which accelerates faster than a Lamborghini Countach and is all kinds of wonderful. Watch, ...

Watch: The Story of the Ads that Made VW Big in America

The ads for the original Beetle are almost as famous and well-loved as the Beetle itself. Looking back now it’s easy to forget, though, just how easily things could have wrong. A new short from Dial M Films tracks the history of those early Volkswagen ads that sold America on the people’s car. The story, of course, begins with the visionary agency that made the ads: Doyle Dane Bernach (DDB). As a popular agency for Jewish products, no agency was more aware of the implications of Volkswagen, and no one, it seems, was more skeptical of the brand than DDB. “Remember Those Great Volkswagen Ads?” from Dial M Films on Vimeo . William Bernbach, though, was adament that the firm take the client, probably as a way of attracting other lucrative automotive clients. Saddled with a client that he didn’t want, art director Helmut Krone says in the film that he originally came up with ads that were all wrong. Krone tried to do what other manufacturers did and was intent on selling the Beetle ...

Watch: The Zerouno Cruis’n USA

ItalDesign is drumming up excitement for its new supercar based around the same 5.2-liter Audi V10 that powers the R8. Naturally, it hit the road for a cruise around California last week to celebrate Monterey Car Week. There isn’t much in the way of V10 noise—which is a real shame given the sound it makes—but you do at least get a good look at the car inside and out in this video. With a body made entirely of carbon fiber and designed to be as aerodynamic and light as possible, ItalDesign figures that it will be good for a 0-60 time of just 3.2 seconds. “We put it our best skills into the production of the first car,” said Massimo Bovi, head of pre-series production, when the Zerouno was first unveiled in Geneva earlier this year. “Using some of the finest productions methods and engaging our high-skilled workers.” The car features clever aero tricks gleaned from single-seat racing, like a y-duct up front to improve downforce and turn-in. Available in a number of trim levels, the...