Mazda recalls more vehicles in Japan, overseas over Takata airbags

Mazda Motor Corp (7261.T) on Friday said it had recalled a total of around 1.9 million vehicles in Japan and abroad over airbags manufactured by Takata Corp (7312.T), expanding a global recall of potentially faulty airbag inflators.

The Japanese automaker said it has recalled 1.5 million vehicles including its Atenza or Mazda 6 sedan, which were manufactured in China and at other overseas plants and sold in Europe, China, Australia and other Asian countries.

Mazda is also recalling 200,000 vehicles in Japan, including the Bongo van, Atenza, Titan commercial truck and the Nissan Vanette and Mitsubishi Delica multi-purpose vehicle, which Mazda produced under contract.

An additional 176,000 vehicles produced in Japan for exports are also being recalled, the company said. All vehicles affected were made between 2006 and 2014.

Separately, Mitsubishi Motors (7211.T) on Friday said it had recalled a total of around 150,000 Delicas and its Pajero SUV model.

The latest announcements are part of a widening recall which has seen roughly 500 million vehicles affected by Takata's airbag inflators, which can explode with excessive force, causing metal shrapnel to spray within vehicle compartments.

So far, these inflators have been linked to at least 10 deaths, mainly in the United States, and around 100 injuries.