Minister denies airbag request

Kris Faafoi, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, has denied a request from VIA (the Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association) to extend the current deadline of May 31, 2018, for a sale prohibition that’s part of the mandatory recall of alpha-type Takata airbags, Autofile has learnt.

David Vinsen, chief executive of VIA, believes the deadline – as it exists – is a breach of natural justice because it unfairly impacts many small New Zealand businesses that have no opportunity of meeting it.

The deadline means that from the end of this month no vehicles can be imported or on-sold in trade if they have airbags fitted that are subject to the call-back and do not have remedial work completed on them. This ban, however, doesn’t apply to the public-to-public transactions or those completed by unlicensed car dealers.

“We acknowledge that suppliers in our industry have a duty of care to the New Zealand consumer,” says Vinsen in an email to Faafoi.

“The industry is taking all possible steps to assist in fulfilling the terms of the recall notice. It has become obvious, however, that the 40 days specified is not sufficient time to fulfil the obligations of the order.

“Due to the nature of our industry, vehicles purchased in good faith in foreign jurisdictions before the notice was given would only just be getting to sale yards when the prohibition comes into effect.

“The effect of the deadline remaining at May 31 will be that independent New Zealand businesses will be unfairly impacted, left with unsaleable high-value goods and little hope for a remedy in a manageable timeframe.

However, Faafoi’s view is the current sale prohibition deadline is “achievable and appropriate.”

He says: “My priority in this matter is to ensure the safety of New Zealand consumers. I cannot allow any possible injury or fatality due to a malfunctioning Takata alpha airbag to occur when we can take steps to avoid it.”

Faafoi also believes it is reasonable to expect those in the used-import vehicle industry to have known about the Takata airbag safety issues for some time.

“Suppliers should have been exercising appropriate due diligence to ensure that the vehicles they supply to New Zealand consumers are safe,” he adds.

“Simply, importers could have chosen to stop supplying and selling vehicles that were known to have a safety risk.”

Background

On April 4, 2018, Faafoi announced the mandatory recall for 50,000 at-risk, or alpha-type, Takata airbag inflators. This is because they pose a significantly higher risk of mis-deploying in an accident and sending fragments towards vehicle occupants. 

As well as the mandatory recall, from May 31, 2018, registered motor-vehicle traders are unable to sell a vehicle fitted with an alpha-type airbag inflator to the public – unless it has been reworked.

Following the decision today, traders now have until next Thursday to fulfil the obligations of the government’s order.