The UFC-Que Choisir announced Tuesday July 22, having launched a group action targeting the automaker Stellantis to claim the payment of compensation from the owners of vehicles equipped with Takata airbags subject to forced immobilization.
The consumer association has decided to seize the court “So that the damages caused to motorists victims of reminders under “stop drive “operated since 2023 in a completely anarchic and unreasonable way, are repaired ”she said.
At the end of June, the French government ordered car manufacturers, all brands combined to immobilize 800,000 additional vehicles equipped with Takata airbags, potentially defective, bringing to 1.7 million the number of vehicles targeted by a prohibition for this reason, until the device is replaced. This decision was made after the fatal accident of a motorist who occurred in Reims due to the explosion of his airbag during a shock with another vehicle.
“These measures “stop drive” are the direct consequences and some of the breach, by the incur and chaotic management of Stellantis and Citroën, in the execution of their general security obligation, constituting a fault of the manufacturer, and thus opening the right to repair “develops the UFC-Que Choisir. At least three of the motorists killed in recent years led a Citroën C3.
The association requests a series of compensation for various damages, in particular a daily allowance for the duration of the immobilization of the vehicle or for moral damage suffered by consumers “Transported in cars equipped with fatal equipment”.
The cause of at least 60 deaths
It is the first group action brought in France about these defective airbags, responsible for at least 60 people dead in 11 countries in the past 15 years, including 18 in France. In the United States, the most affected country with 28 dead, Ford, Toyota, Honda, BMW, Nissan and Mazda paid a total of $ 1.5 billion in victims.
Takata airbags are responsible for deadly explosions or causing serious injuries due to a gas, ammonium nitrate, which degrades over time, especially in hot and humid climates.
The safety cushions are triggered even in the event of a minor collision, causing an explosion identical to that of a pomegranate and projecting in the passenger compartment of metal and plastic parts, often fatal to the driver.
The Japanese company Takata, a worldwide manufacturer known to airbag systems and security belts, did not survive scandal and declared bankruptcy in 2017. In France, investigating judges are investigating suspicion of aggravated deception and endangering the life of others.
