BMW Australia starts buying back units fitted with Takata airbags

Takata airbags have affected a bunch of automakers out there. And, when ample automakers are affected, how come BMW not receive its fair share? Courtesy of the faulty airbags, the German automaker has now started buying back the affected models in Australia. Sometime back, around 12,663 owners were issued a notice by BMW and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which urged the owners to stop driving their cars. The notice was issued following a crash that hinted towards a different Takata airbag that wasn't recalled in the past.

Apart from the aforementioned crash, many other cases related to the BMW 3 Series models that were produced from November 1997 to June 2000 have also been reported. Soon after issuing the notice, BMW offered the affected owners a loan vehicle, rental car, paying for taxi fares, or even buying back the concerned units. Vikram Pawah, who is the head of BMW Australia, has confirmed that the automaker started the buyback program after issuing the notice over two weeks ago.

When asked about the number of vehicles bought back, "Yes we have, we have already bought a few. I can’t give you a number right now. We are working with each and every individual right now. The numbers are still coming in… we’re in the process of connecting customers and providing them with a solution to get them mobile at the moment,” said Vikram Pawah.

Before the notice that was sent out for 12,663 vehicles, BMW had already recalled around 3.8 million airbags in Australia, and even more than 100 million units around the globe. Speaking of Australia in particular, faulty Takata airbags have incurred two fatalities and two serious injuries. The overall number of injuries and fatalities, however, remain a mystery owning to the fact that a lot of cases must have gone unreported. In case you have been living in an alternate universe and are still not aware of the issue with Takata airbags, these safety props can spray shrapnel when deployed in a crash, causing serious injuries or even death.

At last, when asked whether the buyback cars will be crushed or sold after a repair, "We will make those decisions as we go along, nothing to share at this point,'' said Pawah.

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