The top U.S. auto safety regulator on Tuesday imposed a relatively modest $70-million fine on air-bag supplier Takata Corp (7312.T) and ordered it to stop making inflators that use ammonium nitrate.
U.S. regulators said on Monday they could expand their investigation into Takata Corp (7312.T) air bag inflators beyond 11 automakers, as questions arose about whether vehicle design played a role in the devices posing a deadly risk to the public.
The U.S. auto safety watchdog, long criticized as toothless and slow, is showing both bark and bite under its new boss - a testimony to his credentials as a safety expert and a hardening of the administration's policy after a wave of deadly defects.
Honda Motor Co Ltd's American unit on Monday confirmed that a faulty airbag inflator made by Takata Corp ruptured in a March 20 crash of a car in Florida, injuring the driver.
