Takata earns less as its airbags deflate

TOKYO: Japanese vehicle parts supplier Takata slashed its annual earnings forecast yesterday, and said it had yet to determine the full impact of a global safety recall as customers began ditching its air bag inflators.

US vehicle safety regulators earlier this week linked Takata’s failing inflators to the use of ammonium nitrate as a propellant, prompting carmakers from top customer Honda to Mazda to say they would no longer fit the product in new cars, fanning concerns over Takata’s future.

Yesterday Toyota said it, too, would stop using Takata inflators containing ammonium nitrate, which US regulators believe can cause air bags to explode with excessive force, spraying shrapnel inside the vehicle. Regulators have linked them to eight deaths, all in Honda cars.

Takata said it expected a net profit of 5 billion yen (R572.6 million) in the year to the end of March – just a quarter of what it estimated three months ago.