(Bloomberg) -- Honda Motor Co. called back 4.5 million vehiclesglobally in connection with Takata Corp. air bags, expanding theindustry’s largest recall ever, amid a mounting toll of injuries ordeaths related to the safety devices.

About 36 percent of the total, or 1.63 million, involve vehiclesin Japan such as the Fit small car and the CR-V crossover, TeruhikoTatebe, a Honda spokesman, said by phone Thursday. The automaker isstill compiling details on models affected in other markets, hesaid.

It’s Honda’s third-biggest recall this year and its first sinceTakahiro Hachigo took over as president this month from apredecessor who was plagued by quality missteps. While Toyota MotorCorp. and Nissan Motor Co. also have been hit, no carmaker has beenmore affected by defective Takata air bags than Honda, which hasnow called back more than 24 million vehicles.

Hachigo told reporters Thursday that he believes the baginflators that Takata currently makes are safe, though he declinedto say whether the automaker will continue to use the components.The priority remains to find the root cause of the inflatorruptures, he said.

The cost related to the latest recall may be covered by existingprovisions set aside by Honda and the company doesn’t expect anadditional impact to earnings for now, spokesman Atsushi Oharasaid.

None of the newly recalled cars are in the U.S. or Canada, aspokesman for Honda in North America, Chris Martin, said in ane-mail.

Air-bag recalls

The latest Honda recall involved vehicles manufactured from 2007to 2011. While the same type of inflator is use in vehiclesproduced after 2012, those were not recalled as investigationsdidn’t find evidence of danger, Honda said. No injuries or deathsrelated to the air bags were reported for the batch being calledback.

The stock fell 0.1 percent to close at 3,832 yen in Tokyo andTakata dropped 4.5 percent to 1,245 yen, while the Nikkei 225 StockAverage climbed 0.6 percent.

Hachigo, 56, this week pledged to improve communication withinHonda, downplayed sales targets and said the company had no plansto support Takata. The carmaker has a 1.2 percent ownership stakein the supplier.

Nissan injury

Today’s recall is an expansion of the 4.89 million Hondavehicles affected by a preventative recall on May 14, Takata said.The company’s air bags can rupture during deployment and spraymetal and plastic at passengers.

Separately, Nissan on Wednesday disclosed the first injuryrelated to Takata air bags in Japan. Takata President ShigehisaTakada last month held his first press conference at which he bowedand made his first public apology for the eight deaths and 130injuries related to the company’s air bags dating back more than adecade.

The air-bag maker faced pressure earlier this week from U.S.Senator Richard Blumenthal to set up a victims’ compensation fund,similar to what General Motors Co. established for people killed orinjured due to faulty ignition switches for the eight deaths andhundreds of injuries related to the company’s air bags dating backmore than a decade.

Takada said at the briefing that he didn’t know how long it willtake for the company to discover the root cause for the defects. Hehas previously apologized in written statements and printadvertisements in U.S. newspapers.

--With assistance from Masatsugu Horie in Osaka, Jeff Plungis inWashington and Jeff Green in Southfield, Michigan.

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