n"> Ford Motor Co (F.N) said it will expand a U.S. recall of vehicles with Takata Corp (7312.T) passenger-side air bags, becoming the latest carmaker to do so in response to the regulator's request.

The recall includes about 38,500 vehicles in the United States, bringing to 98,000 the total number of Ford vehicles being recalled for issues related to Takata air bags, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Ford's statement closely follows Chrysler Group's announcement on Wednesday that it will expand a U.S. recall of vehicles with Takata air bags.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that defective Takata air bag inflators in certain vehicles can rupture and spray metal shards.

Takata acknowledged earlier in the day that it still does not understand what is causing air bag explosions in a global safety scandal that has involved the recall of more than 16 million cars worldwide and been linked to at least five fatalities.

Ford will recall certain 2004-2005 Ford Ranger and 2005-2006 Ford GTs sold in Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It also includes certain areas with high humidity within Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Guam, Saipan and American Samoa.

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