Japanese car parts maker Takata has agreed to pay $1bn (£820m)
in penalties in the US for concealing dangerous defects in its exploding
airbags.
The firm also pleaded
guilty to a single criminal charge, the company and the US Justice Department said.
Takata will pay a $25m fine, $125m to people injured by the
airbags and $850m to carmakers that used them.
The faulty airbags have been linked to at least a dozen deaths
and more than 100 injuries worldwide.
Most major carmakers have been affected by the fault, with about
100 million Takata airbags recalled globally.
'Falsified test data'
The company's chief executive, Shigehisa Takada, said:
"Takata deeply regrets the circumstances that have led to this situation
and remains fully committed to being part of the solution."
Takata has previously acknowledged some of its airbag inflators
expanded with too much force and sprayed metal shrapnel into cars.
"For more than a decade, Takata repeatedly and
systematically falsified critical test data related to the safety of its products,
putting profits and production schedules ahead of safety," said Andrew
Weissmann, head of the Justice Department's fraud section.
"I offer my deepest sympathies to the families and friends
of those who died and to those who were injured as a result of the Takata
Corporation's failure to fulfil its obligation to ensure the safety of its
airbag systems," said Calvin L Scovel, inspector general of the US
Department of Transportation.
Three former Takata executives were also charged by the US
authorities on Friday for their part in the scandal.
(Reference from http://www.bbc.com/ )
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