Takata, US states reach settlement over air bag probe

February 23, 2018

New York- Takata Corp. has reached an agreement with 44 US states and Washington, D.C., to settle allegations that the Japanese company concealed safety issues related to its air bags, the states said Thursday.

The 650-milion-dollar settlement concludes a multi-state investigation into Takata's failure to timely disclose known safety defects associated with certain air bag inflators, the states said.

Due to Takata's bankruptcy, the multi-state group "agreed not to collect this civil penalty in order to maximize the recovery available to consumers who were the victims of this air bag defect," Alan Wilson, attorney general of South Carolina, which served as lead state, said in a statement.

Takata agreed not to advertise the safety of its air bag systems without scientific and engineering support and not to manipulate testing data. The company also agreed to fulfill its obligations to recall defective products promptly.

In January last year, Takata agreed to plead guilty to covering up the air bag system defect and pay one billion dollars to settle a Justice Department investigation.

Takata filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan and the United States in June last year due to financial problems stemming from a worldwide recall of its rupture-prone air bags.

Earlier this month, the company gained U.S. court approval for its bankruptcy restructuring plan. Jiji Press