Takata, the Japanese airbag manufacturer, and various carmakers that use its products, are being sued in the US because of allegations that its cars are unsafe.
Millions of cars have been recalled recently because of dangerous airbags.
The lawsuit makes allegations that Takata, as well as Toyota and Honda, have been hiding the airbag problem from consumers.
The reason the airbags are considered to be ‘dangerous’ is because if they are deployed with too much force they can release deadly shrapnel at passengers.
This has led to more than 30 injuries in the US – directly linked to the airbags produced by Takata.
The case was filed in a US district court in Florida on behalf of consumers across the country. Carmakers named as defendants include Honda and Toyota.
According to Reuters, the lawsuits said that Takata “had a duty to disclose these safety issues because they consistently marketed their vehicles as reliable and safe.”
Car safety regulators across the US are investigating the issue and have issued a recall of vehicles with Takata airbags to nearly 8 million.
Takata believes that approximately 12 million vehicles could be affected worldwide.
Takata chairman and chief executive, Shigehisa Takada, issued an apology regarding the safety of his company’s airbags:
“We deeply regret that the recent recalls of vehicles equipped with our airbags have likely raised significant concerns and troubles to our product users, our customers, shareholders and other stakeholders,” he said in a statement.
