Overview

• An IGEDD report commissioned in January found 2.5 million vehicles in France still carried potentially deadly Takata airbags despite a decade of recalls.
• Manufacturers face difficulties contacting owners because one-third of affected cars have been exported or scrapped and up to 15% of addresses are outdated.
• Recall success rates among locatable cars ranged from 90% for top performers down to 50% for the least effective automakers, with some still holding 25% of replacements outstanding.
• The new decree compels automakers to offer replacement vehicles or home repair services when fixes extend beyond 15 days and imposes high penalties for any delays.
• IGEDD engineers proposed using France’s biennial technical inspection and overhauling the vehicle registration system to block unsafe cars from circulation until airbags are replaced.