Leading automotive companies, including General Motors, Toyota Motor Corp., and Volkswagen Group, alongside two airbag component suppliers, have publicly voiced their opposition to the U.S. It is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) initiative for a force recall of 52 million airbag inflators, which will cost billion dollars. This collective stance was made abundantly clear during a recent hearing.

Automakers Mount Defense Over Massive Recall

NHTSA officials, during an October hearing, contended that the airbag inflators manufactured by ARC Automotive and Delphi Automotive should undergo a recall due to potential ruptures that could result in hazardous metal fragments being expelled.

According to Automotive News, the NHTSA's position came from a thorough eight-year government study that linked this problem to one death and seven injuries. Automotive News further stated, if this airbag inflators recall takes off, it will be the second-biggest recall in the U.S.

Automobile and part manufacturers have made strong complaints. They're saying that the problem probably won't lead to any harm. The group was skeptical about NHSTA's force recall bid. Together, do not trust the agency's analysis and the justification for initiating a recall.

Joining the league to oppose the bid of airbag inflators force recall are General Motors, Volkswagen, and Toyota Motor. Automakers are actively campaigning against an unprecedented effort by U.S. regulatory authorities to compel the recall of up to 52 million airbag inflators.

As shared on Portland Press Herald's report, in letters made public on Wednesday, companies including General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. asserted that there is insufficient evidence to substantiate the notion that components produced by ARC Automotive Inc. are inherently flawed, notwithstanding reports of certain inflators exploding during accidents, resulting in injuries or fatalities.

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United as One Voice

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) wants a full recall, even though ARC is against it. This could cost car companies up to $10 billion dollars during the recall. In comments submitted to the NHTSA and posted online, General Motors (GM) expressed its disagreement with the initial determination made by the agency, asserting that the ARC airbag inflators do not meet the agency's rigorous technical and procedural standards, especially when dealing with significant defects enforcement cases.

GM also highlighted that it had proactively undertaken a voluntary recall encompassing more than one million ARC airbag inflators. Moreover, GM cautioned that the NHTSA's proposed recall could potentially encompass up to 15% of the over 300 million registered motor vehicles in the United States.

The automaker made it clear that the NHTSA has not clearly shown that such a large-scale recall is legally necessary or will make people safer. Another car manufacturer showed disagreement with the force recall bid. More than two million Ford cars and trucks made between 2005 and 2017 would be recalled. Thus, it holds some reservations about the plan.

The Dearborn-based company emphasized that within the broad spectrum of Ford vehicles covered, there have been no recorded occurrences of ARC Inflator ruptures in real-world situations.

Additionally, Benzinga shared  ARC has emphasized the unlikelihood of new ruptures, projecting a rate of less than one incident over the course of the next 33 years, as indicated by the failure rate estimated by the NHTSA.

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