US regulators on Friday fined Japanese auto parts manufacturer Takata Corp US$14,000 a day, accusing it of stonewalling the investigation into the company’s defective airbags.
Takata failed to fully respond to regulator requests to explain about 2.4 million pages of company documents supplied in the probe, or to provide knowledgeable staff a “walk-through” of the papers, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said.
“Takata is neither being forthcoming with the information that it is legally obligated to supply, nor is it being cooperative in aiding NHTSA’s ongoing investigation of a potentially serious safety defect,” the NHTSA said in a letter to Takata.
TOO MUCH POWER
About 20 million vehicles produced by some of the world’s biggest automakers are being recalled due to the risk their Takata-made airbags could deploy with excessive explosive power, spraying potentially fatal shrapnel into the vehicle.
The problem has been linked to at least five deaths globally.
US regulations require Takata to explain documents that are not self-explanatory. Vincent said the company’s failure to provide adequate explanations over several months made a Feb. 4 meeting with the company “a waste of agency time and resources.”
Takata said it was “surprised and disappointed” by the NHTSA’s statement. “We strongly disagree with their characterization that we have not been fully cooperating with them,” it added.
Takata said it has released almost 2.5 million pages of documents to NHTSA in response to the agency’s orders, that it has been “in regular communication” with NHTSA staff on additional documents and that it has met regularly with NHTSA engineers to try to understand the root cause of the airbag program.
“We remain fully committed to cooperating with NHTSA in the interests of advancing auto safety for the driving public,” the company added.
Takata also said it has been working closely with automakers in areas it believes are most vulnerable.
Takata believes the airbag problem surfaces in humid, hotter regions and resisted the NHTSA’s call for a national recall of cars.
Takata will be fined a civil penalty of US$14,000 a day starting on Friday for each day the violations persists, Vincent said.
He warned the company that the NHTSA could force depositions of Takata employees in both the US and in Japan if the company did not cooperate fully in “short order.” He also said it could refer the matter to the US Department of Justice for court action.
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RISING: Strong exports, and life insurance companies’ efforts to manage currency risks indicates the NT dollar would eventually pass the 29 level, an expert said The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rallied to its strongest in three years amid inflows to the nation’s stock market and broad-based weakness in the US dollar. Exporter sales of the US currency and a repatriation of funds from local asset managers also played a role, said two traders, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly. State-owned banks were seen buying the greenback yesterday, but only at a moderate scale, the traders said. The local currency gained 0.77 percent, outperforming almost all of its Asian peers, to close at NT$29.165 per US dollar in Taipei trading yesterday. The
RECORD LOW: Global firms’ increased inventories, tariff disputes not yet impacting Taiwan and new graduates not yet entering the market contributed to the decrease Taiwan’s unemployment rate last month dropped to 3.3 percent, the lowest for the month in 25 years, as strong exports and resilient domestic demand boosted hiring across various sectors, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. After seasonal adjustments, the jobless rate eased to 3.34 percent, the best performance in 24 years, suggesting a stable labor market, although a mild increase is expected with the graduation season from this month through August, the statistics agency said. “Potential shocks from tariff disputes between the US and China have yet to affect Taiwan’s job market,” Census Department Deputy Director Tan Wen-ling
RSS