Millions Of Americans Could Be Driving Around With Deadly Aftermarket Airbags

Good morning! It’s Friday, July 12, 2024, and this is The Morning Shift, your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. Here are the important stories you need to know.

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Contents

1st Gear: NHTSA Warns Millions Of Cars Fitted With Faulty Airbags

After years spent uncovering deadly Takata airbags that need removing and replacing, and another explosive airbag recall risking more than 50 million American motorists, you could be forgiven for thinking that we’d found all the faulty airbags out there. But now, it turns out there are still millions of cars fitted with potentially deadly airbags roaming America’s roads.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued a warning that faulty aftermarket airbags may have been fitted to millions of cars in America to replace already faulty ones, risking severe injury or even death if they go off during a crash, reports Automotive News:

Nearly 2 million vehicles on U.S. roads could be at risk of having cheap, substandard replacement airbag inflators that can cause serious injury or death in a crash, according to Carfax data.

NHTSA urged used-car buyers in a July 10 statement to be aware of these defective airbags. After accidents, vehicles could be fitted with foreign airbag parts made by companies “with little to no reputation of quality manufacturing or experience,” and sold at prices far below the cost of genuine equipment, NHTSA said.

These airbags are ordered online and installed at reputable repair shops or manufacturer dealerships. The 2 million vehicles involved in an accident with airbag deployment in the past two years present “an opportunity for a scammer to install a counterfeit airbag as a replacement,” Carfax said.

The aftermarket inflators pose a risk as when they go off, they can fail and send metal fragments into the car, where they are often aimed directly at the occupant’s chest, neck, eyes and face—similar to the Takata airbags.

So far, three people have reportedly been killed as a result of crashes involving these defective airbags, reports Automotive News. Two people have also suffered “life-altering injuries” as a result of the aftermarket airbag inflators going off.

Anyone who suspect that their car has been fitted with a substandard airbag inflator is being urged to take their car into an approved service center to check. Additionally, anyone buying a used car should take a few key steps to ensure they aren’t buying a car with one already fitted. These measures include obtaining a vehicle history report, working with manufacturer-approved dealers and asking for the brand name of parts that are being fitted to the car while servicing.

2nd Gear: Global EV Sales Are Still Rising

We hear a lot of doom-mongering these days about how nobody wants to buy electric cars ‘cos they’re too expensive, too boring to drive and don’t come with enough range. However, the rest of the world clearly hasn’t got that memo as it turns out electric vehicles sales are rising globally.

Through the month of June, sales of EVs and plug-in hybrid cars rose by more than 10 percent according to a new report from Reuters. The boost in global demand was driven by growth in China:

China accounted for over 60% of the total, as rising availability of electric vehicles and strong sales by BYD contributed to an increase in the domestic market share of PHEVs in the first half of the year, Rho Motion data manager Charles Lester told Reuters.

PHEV sales worldwide reached 1.4 million in July, of which 0.86 million were in China, where they were up 25% year-on-year, Lester said.

In Europe, monthly sales were down 7% to 0.30 million, with Finland, Ireland, and the Netherlands leading losses, while Italy recorded a 34% increase following the introduction of government incentives, he added. In the United States and Canada, PHEV sales were up 6% to 0.14 million in the same month.

Sales in the U.S. through the last month mean that the country has so far bought almost 600,000 electric and plug-in hybrid cars. To give that some context, that’s about the same number as were sold in the entirety of 2021. Additionally, it marks a 7.3 percent increase over the number of fully electric cars that were sold in the first half of 2023.

3rd Gear: UAW Is Bracing For A Trump Victory

Elections in the UK and France may have stolen the limelight these past few weeks, but there’s no doubt that the vote in America in 115 days is the big one. The country’s choice between Joe Biden and Donald Trump is a big deal, and it’s getting close to call. Now, the United Auto Workers union has begun preparing for all eventualities, and has started drafting plans for what could happen if Trump wins in November.

The union, which represents workers at plants operated by Ford, Stellantis, GM and other automakers, has begun discussing steps it must take if Biden is unable to keep Trump out of the White House, reports the Detroit Free Press. According to the site:

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain met with the union’s executive board late on Thursday to discuss his deep concerns with President Joe Biden’s ability to defeat Donald Trump in the November election, three sources familiar with the matter said.

Fain called together top officials at the nearly 400,000-member union to discuss concerns and what the union’s options are, according to the sources, who asked not to be identified. The union is considering its next steps, the sources said.

Fain and the UAW, which endorsed Biden in January, are important allies of Biden and are expected to play a critical role in helping Biden win in key swing states including Michigan, where the UAW is based.

Fain previously claimed that Trump “stands against everything we stand for as a society,” so it should come as no surprise that his current standing has the UAW president concerned.

4th Gear: Increased Scrutiny Delays Boeing Deliveries

Boeing’s year has been going from bad to worse in 2024. The year started with a door blowing off the side of a 737 Max mid-air and has seen the American company become a convicted felon after admitting to allegations of fraud earlier this week. Now, the increased scrutiny that comes with these mishaps has hit its output, and airlines are being warned of six-month delays for some deliveries.

The plane maker has been operating at a reduced output for the past few months after federal investigators stepped in to monitor production and quality control at the American company. Now, Reuters reports that the increased checks in place have led to a six-month delay on deliveries of 737 Max aircraft:

Boeing has notified some 737 Max customers in recent weeks that aircraft due for delivery in 2025 and 2026 might face additional delays of three to six months, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Boeing did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Reuters reported last month citing two industry sources that Boeing informed its suppliers it was delaying a key production milestone for its 737 jet family by three months as Boeing’s jet production has slowed sharply in the face of increased scrutiny from regulators, airlines and lawmakers.

The future delays follow the announcement earlier this year that Boeing would not ramp up deliveries of the 737 Max this quarter. The company has faced strict production caps so far this year and even saw the company deliver just 29 planes in March this year, down from the 64 that it shipped in the same period last year.