Up to 7 Million Cars With Takata Air Bags to Be Recalled in Japan

TOKYO—Auto makers are recalling up to seven million more vehicles in Japan that carry air bags made by Takata Corp., bringing the number of domestic cars subject to recall in the country to 19.6 million, Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said Friday.

A transport-ministry official said auto makers would, by March 2019, recall cars with Takata-made air bags that lack a drying agent.

The recalls include cars made by domestic firms such as Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., Honda Motor Co. Ltd., Mazda Motor Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp., the official said.

The ministry hasn't been able to identify all the foreign car makers affected at this point, he added.

With the scope of the defective air-bag problem ballooning, Takata's steering committee has spoken to private-equity funds and companies—including U.S. investment fund KKR & Co.—about a possible investment in the troubled company, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday.

Takata hopes to find a financial investor or automotive company to provide more cash, and to reach a deal with car makers to share the costs of recalling nearly 70 million air bags in the U.S. alone.

The faulty air-bag inflaters use an ammonium-nitrate propellant that can degrade amid prolonged exposure to moisture, leading to explosions that spray shrapnel into the vehicle cabins.

Write to Megumi Fujikawa at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 27, 2016 04:15 ET (08:15 GMT)

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