Half of ‘alpha’ Takata airbags replaced

The new vehicle industry has hit the halfway mark on the replacement of ‘alpha’ Takata airbags according to figures released this week.

This past week, the Motor Industry Association of NZ provided to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Hon Kris Faafoi, an update on both the total number vehicles affected by the Takata airbag recall and completion rates.

As of May, 50,806 of the 103,819 of the alpha-affected vehicles have been completed, leaving 53,013 still to complete – although the total number affected is someone fluid as vehicles are either added or subtracted from the list.

The total recall for other Takata recall has reached 490,004 with 183,975 completed, and for all airbag-related recalls the tally has hit 593,893 with 234,781 repaired.

David Crawford, Chief Executive Officer of the Motor Industry Association says “Between March and May, Distributors have worked tirelessly to identify the number of vehicles fitted with the more at risk Takata alpha type airbag, subject to a mandatory recall, or with the other types of Takata airbags, whether these vehicles were NZ new or used imported vehicles.

“For used imported vehicles, it has been a significant logistical exercise with many challenges to overcome identifying at an individual vehicle level which are caught in the mandatory and voluntary recalls”.

For used imported vehicles, before a replacement part can be ordered, a distributor needs to know if the vehicle is in New Zealand and then verify the status of each individual vehicle with their manufacturer’s head office database.

Crawford says this has been a significant focus of attention since March and much of this work has now been completed and parts are on order.

“Industry continues to allocate significant resources to achieve a coordinated and timely response to the Takata airbag recall” says Mr Crawford.

Reporting of Vehicle Numbers as known at:

May 2018

March 2018

Number of Recalls Completed