Takata Replaces President as Airbag Crisis Grows

Stefan Stocker, the former Robert Bosch GmbH executive who became Takata Corp.'s first foreign president 18 months ago, has stepped down. He will remain on the airbag maker's board.

Stocker's role is being returned to Shigehisa Takada, 48, grandson of the company's founder. The reclusive Takada will continue as chairman and CEO.

Takata has been widely criticized for its leisurely response to five fatalities linked to its faulty airbag inflators. At least 10 carmakers have recalled more than 24 million vehicles worldwide over the past four years to replace the devices, which can explode when triggered.

Takata still has not clearly identified the cause of the problem. Earlier this month impatient carmakers launched an independent engineering analysis to find the defect. In the meantime, Takata continues to resist pressure from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to expand current regional recalls.

Neither Stocker nor Takada has appeared publicly since the company's limited-access shareholder meeting in June. Last week Takata posted an open letter in numerous newspapers outlining its efforts to improve quality and increase production of replacement inflators.