Filed under: Safety, BMW, Ford, GM, Earnings/Financials, Technology
Lengthy vehicle development times make it difficult for automakers to cut and run from the supplier.
You might expect automakers to be fleeing any connection with beleaguered supplier
Takata in the wake of the company's exploding airbag inflator crisis. After all, with a Senate hearing,
pending lawsuit,
plummeting stock value and
demand for a national recall, the tier-one supplier isn't at its strongest right now. However, years of cooperation mean that automakers are standing by Takata, and necessity may be playing a role, as well.
About 39 percent of Takata's business comes from airbags, and seatbelts make up another significant chunk of the operation too, says
Bloomberg. The long-term relationships and lengthy vehicle development times make it difficult for automakers to cut and run from the supplier. "Takata has so much product breadth that I don't really see that they could just disappear," said AutoPacific analyst Dave Sullivan to
Bloomberg.
For example, Takata helped develop the unique front center airbag with
General Motors in models like the
Chevrolet Traverse and
Buick Enclave. Outside of safety tech, it is also a partner with
Ford on the adaptive steering system available on the upcoming
2015 Edge.
These long-lasting partnerships make change difficult now that there's a problem. According to
Reuters, automakers
claim it would take a year or longer to set up with a different supplier for replacement airbag inflators. Switching to a completely different part for the repairs might not be a viable option either, because of the engineering time needed.
BMW is taking action, though. According to
Reuters, the Bavarian brand is working with the supplier to move inflator production from Monclova, Mexico, to a Takata factory in Freiburg, Germany. The Mexican plant
may be the source of some of the faulty parts.
Ford, GM still doing new business with Takata amidst airbag crisis originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 Nov 2014 16:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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