Takata Airbag Recall Makes Way For Autoliv To Become The Leader In Japan

Two of the biggest issues the automotive world has seen in recent days is the Volkswagen Diesel Gate Scandal and the Takata airbag recall. Many carmakers from around the world were affected by defective airbags made by Takata Corp, and Japanese carmakers were affected the most.

Now, however, many Japanese carmakers are straying away from Takata airbags, which puts them in a choice, whether to chose an untested airbag maker, or Autoliv, the market leader. Autoliv is currently in second in Japan, behind Takata.

Autoliv is investing about 1 percent of its sales this year, which is around USD 90 million to boost its capacity to replace Takata inflators that need to be changed. The company plans to replace 20 million defective airbag inflators, mainly for Honda.

Trying to deliver or produce this many inflators does have a catch though - quality. Autoliv cannot by any means give up on the quality of airbag inflators. So is this the right time for Autoliv to become the leader in Japan as well? Or will carmakers risk choosing a non-tested brand to find a replacement for Takata airbags?