Nissan Drops Takata as Airbag Inflator Supplier

Nissan Motor Co. has joined Toyota, Honda and Mazda in declaring it will no longer buy Takata Corp. airbag inflators that use ammonium nitrate as the propellant.

The material, which appears to degrade after long exposure to heat and humidity, has been linked to explosions that caused eight fatalities—all involving Honda vehicles—and at least 100 injuries. Carmakers are recalling roughly 40 million vehicles worldwide that use the Takata inflators.

Vehicle manufacturers have been rushing to reject further use of Takata’s devices after the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration declared last week that the supplier provided “selective, incomplete or inaccurate” data about its devices to the agency and customers.

NHTSA fined Takata $70 million and said the penalty could rise to $200 million if it discovers more deception. The agency also ordered Takata to stop using ammonium nitrate by 2018 and warned it might later order new recalls on such devices manufactured between now and then.

NHTSA estimates 23 million inflators installed in 19 million vehicles built by 12 carmakers must be recalled in the U.S. It has ordered Takata and the carmakers to roll out the necessary callback through next year and complete repairs by the end of 2017.

The lengthy process is designed to enable Takata’s rivals—Autoliv, Daicel and ZF TRW—to meet demand for the replacement parts. All three companies use a costlier but more stable propellant.