Autos

Takata shares plunge 15 percent; more carmakers may ditch its inflators

An employee sews an airbag at Takata's crash-testing facility in Auburn Hills, Michigan, August 19, 2010.
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Shares of scandal-hit Japanese auto parts maker Takata extended double-digit falls into a third day, plunging as much as 15 percent in early trade on Friday after more automakers considered abandoning its air bag inflators.

Mazda on Thursday joined Takata's top customer, Honda Motor, in saying it would drop its inflators containing ammonium nitrate - a volatile chemical suspected of causing the defects - from its new cars. Subaru-maker Fuji Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Motors said they were considering doing the same.

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Takata's inflators, which can explode with too much force and spray metal fragments inside cars, have led to the recall of tens of millions of vehicles worldwide. Regulators have linked them to eight deaths, all in Honda's cars.