Toyota will temporarily supply hydrogen stations in California. (Photo : Reuters)
Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor Corp is reportedly buying 13 million of air-bag inflators from century-old Tokyo-based smaller parts maker Nippon Kayaku Co, a rival of Takata Corp. This was said to be Toyota's move to reduce its risk from potentially lethal Takata air-bag inflators.
In July, Toyota Motor Corp asked Nippon Kayaku Co to increase production so it can meet the supplies the carmaker needed, which is over 13 million inflators from July 2016 until 2020, a source told Reuters.
Another source told the publication that Toyota will replace "the high-risk ones, in other words the older ones, first and then proceed sequentially" to newer inflators if it switches to inflators from Nippon Kayaku Co, which also manufactures pharmaceuticals and chemicals.
The amount of Nippon Kayaku purchases was said to be based on the number of vehicles with the inflators made by Takata that Toyota anticipates become dangerous as the cars become older in the next few years. Nippon Kayaku Co has yet to confirm the report.
Prior to this, more than 10 car makers were prompted to recall tens of millions of vehicles since 2008 to replace Takata air bags in the biggest automotive recall in the world. While the root cause is under investigation, the car makers are bearing the cost of most recalls.
So far, eight deaths and over 100 injuries caused by exploding with excessive force and spraying shrapnel inside vehicles have been linked to Takata air-bag inflators.
In the United States, Takata has been urged by lawmakers to recall all cars equipped with their air bags immediately. The demand is likely to affect more than 50 million cars on roads in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Tianjin FAW Toyota Motor Co spokesman Itsuki Kurosu told Detroit News that Toyota's affiliate will extend the production shutdown through Aug. 26 with approximately 4,700 Toyota and Lexus vehicles damaged by the explosions at a Tianjin chemical storage site.
