GM has at least 20M vehicles built with possible dangerous airbag part: report
NHTSA says potentially dangerous airbag part should be recalled
UAW president Shawn Fain has been 'nothing but surprising' throughout process: Jamie Butters
Automotive News executive editor Jamie Butters discusses the expansion of the UAW strikes and its impact on car buyers.
General Motors reportedly has at least 20 million vehicles built with an airbag part that the government says should be recalled before more people are hurt or killed.
While the exact total of affected GM vehicles has not been disclosed publicly, the figure puts the automaker in the crosshairs of U.S. safety regulators who recommend the recall of 52 million airbag inflators designed by Tennessee-based auto supplier ARC Automotive, according to The Wall Street Journal. The outlet cited sources familiar with the matter.
The inflator can explode with too much force during a crash, sending pieces of metal into the air that strike occupants in the face and neck, according to the Journal. At least two people have been killed, and several others injured in these incidents, the outlet reported.
According to the paper, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has not said how many vehicles or models would be recalled.
GM SECURES $6B LINE OF CREDIT AS UAW STRIKE DRAGS ON
General Motors
NHTSA held a public meeting on Thursday, determining that the airbag parts are defective and should be recalled. In April, the safety agency sent a letter to ARC demanding a recall for the inflators, according to the report.
"GM believes the evidence and data presented by NHTSA at this time does not provide a basis for any recall beyond the approximately 1 million ARC inflators GM has already recalled out of an abundance of caution," a GM spokesperson said in a statement to FOX Business. "Neither the affected automakers nor NHTSA, despite eight years of study and investigation, have identified a systemic design or manufacturing defect in ARC frontal airbag inflators."
"If GM concludes at any time that any unrecalled ARC inflators are unsafe, the company will take appropriate action in cooperation with NHTSA," the GM spokesperson said.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
A recall of this size would be among the largest in U.S. history.
NHTSA has yet to release a breakdown of airbag inflators by manufacturers, the safety regulator told FOX Business on Thursday.