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Canadian drivers have launched three class action lawsuits against embattled Japanese auto supplier Takata over defective airbags linked to at least five fatalities worldwide.
Three plaintiffs in Windsor, Ontario, are seeking combined damages of $2.4 billion on behalf of owners of vehicles equipped with Takata-made airbags, the company said in the statement to the Tokyo Stock Exchange today. The actual penalty amount will be difficult to estimate, and Takata hasn’t factored it into the current fiscal year’s earnings forecast, it said.
The lawsuits were spurred by a series of recalls of vehicles with Takata airbags. Regulators and automakers are investigating airbag inflators that may malfunction, deploying with too much force and shooting metal pieces into drivers and passengers.
Takata has been the target of dozens of proposed class actions in the U.S. by customers claiming losses in vehicle value.
According to estimates, about 25 million vehicles equipped with Takata airbags have been recalled across the globe since 2008.
Agencies/Canadajournal
