Stellantis said on Monday that 200,000 Citroën and DS cars, which were equipped with faulty Takata airbags, had been repaired. A recall campaign was launched last May for vehicles sold between 2009 and 2019.
Some 200,000 Citroën and DS cars equipped with faulty airbags supplied by the Japanese equipment manufacturer Takata, or a third of the vehicles concerned, have been repaired in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal, Stellantis said on Monday.
These four European countries represent 91% of the vehicles affected by the large-scale recall campaign carried out by this manufacturer, which requires the immobilization of the vehicle until it is repaired. In France, 114,000 cars have been upgraded and 90,000 additional vehicles should follow soon, Stellantis said.
In total, 530,000 Citroën C3 and DS3 sold between 2009 and 2019 in Europe and the Maghreb are affected, including 246,000 in France.
Since the announcement of the recall campaign in May, the automobile group has increased the number of registered letters to affected customers, found via registration files, and launched information campaigns in the media. However, many owners have not yet come forward.
Several deaths recorded
Stellantis has doubled the production of adapted airbags at a subcontractor’s factory. The manufacturer has also boosted its offering of courtesy vehicles intended to replace cars undergoing repairs (36,000 in France), available in six parks across the south of France, or delivered to their homes for remote customers.
Airbags from the Japanese manufacturer Takata – which has since gone bankrupt – have shaken the automobile sector since 2014: they have caused several deaths by projecting dangerous parts into the driver’s face, due to a gas that ages poorly in climates. hot and humid.
Volkswagen, Nissan and Toyota have also recently launched recall campaigns concerning Takata airbags, but without encouraging people to stop driving. BMW recalled more than 1.7 million vehicles in the United States and China this summer for the same problem.
