Air Bag Manufacturer Rejects Regulators Demand To Recall Unsafe Inflators: Report

General Motors GM recalled about 1 million sport utility vehicles in the U.S. due to unsafe airbag inflators.
The recall affects 994,763 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, and GMC Acadia cars from the 2014 to 2017 model years equipped with modules manufactured by ARC Automotive Inc., reported Reuters.
The front-driver airbag inflator in the affected vehicles might have a manufacturing issue that could cause it to rupture during deployment.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the inflators manufactured by Tennessee-based ARC Automotive have a "safety-related defect" and should be recalled. The inflators have been linked to two explosions that killed two individuals and injured several others, reported WSJ.
Many of the world's top automakers rely on ARC. According to NHTSA records, the devices were used in vehicles dating back to the early 2000s by at least 12 automakers, including General Motors, added WSJ.
NHTSA has requested ARC to recall all inflators manufactured before January 2018.
ARC Automotive rejected the demand from federal regulators to recall 67 million airbag inflators that the regulators say are unsafe, setting up a potential legal battle that would have wide-ranging ramifications for the industry, added WSJ.
In a letter to NHTSA last week, ARC stated that it "strongly disagrees" with the agency's findings and that regulators failed to detect any "systemic or prevalent defect" in the inflators, instead relying on "random 'one-off' manufacturing anomalies." The company stated that it had already addressed those concerns.
Price Action: GM shares are trading lower by 0.43% at $32.26 on the last check Monday.

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