HOLDEN AIRBAG RECALL

HOLDEN has confirmed it will recall about 333,000 vehicles — including Barina, Astra and Cruze hatchbacks — in Australia affected by the Takata airbag recall.

However, it is yet to outline when its cars will be repaired.

The list of Holden cars stretches from 2005 to today but does not include every Holden sold locally.

Some of the cars being recalled by Holden are models with other General Motors badges, such as Opel and Saab, no longer sold in Australia.

A statement from Holden indicated some models would be fixed sooner than others: “We are developing our plan in response to the recall. The recall notice calls for a progressive series of recalls, and our plan will reflect this.”

Holden also says none of its cars are equipped with any Takata “alpha” airbag inflators that have a one-in-two chance of spraying shrapnel in a crash.

“Holden will contact customers directly at an appropriate time if their car is being recalled,” the company said.

Holden’s 333,000 vehicles is three times higher than the figures for other brands with German-sourced Takata airbags announced this week (Ford 107,000 and VW 106,800).

By comparison, over the past four years Toyota and its luxury division Lexus have recalled 573,453 cars with Takata airbags, Honda 436,921 vehicles, Nissan 289,754 and Mitsubishi 235,161. The Japanese brands say they have so far replaced between 60 per cent and 86 per cent of the airbags on their recall lists.

The total list of cars recalled for potentially faulty Takata airbags in Australia is now close to 4 million.