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

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

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

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

The cost related to the latest recall may be covered by existing provisions set aside by Honda and the company doesn’t expect an additional impact to earnings for now, spokesman Atsushi Ohara said.

None of the newly recalled cars are in the U.S. or Canada, a spokesman for Honda in North America, Chris Martin, said in an e-mail.

Air-bag recalls

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

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

Hachigo, 56, this week pledged to improve communication within Honda, downplayed sales targets and said the company had no plans to support Takata. The carmaker has a 1.2 percent ownership stake in the supplier.

Nissan injury

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

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

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 or injured due to faulty ignition switches for the eight deaths and hundreds of injuries related to the company’s air bags dating back more than a decade.

Takada said at the briefing that he didn’t know how long it will take for the company to discover the root cause for the defects. He has previously apologized in written statements and print advertisements in U.S. newspapers.

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

Special Reports /

Honda adds 4.5 million cars to recalls for Takata air bags

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