Chevrolet India says faulty Takata airbags replaced in 12,000 Cruze units

Automaker Chevrolet India on Tuesday said it has replaced faulty Takata airbags in around 12,000 Cruze units in the country while appealing to leftover customers to get their vehicles inspected at the earliest.

The company, part of the US auto major General Motors, is inspecting and replacing faulty airbags in Cruze sedan units manufactured between 2009 and 2017.

The exercise is part of the Takata Airbag recall that was announced on February 25, 2019. Millions of vehicles globally have been recalled due to defective safety airbags manufactured by Japan's Takata Corp.

General Motors exited the Indian market in 2018 and now caters to only the aftersales requirements of the existing customers.

"While our after-sales teams at Chevrolet had contacted and completed the required inspections and replacement in over 12,000 vehicles affected by this recall over the past months, there are still a small number of customers who may not have had an opportunity to get their vehicles inspected," Chevrolet India Commercial Operations Vice President Markus Sternberg said in a statement.

Chevrolet is appealing to all those customers to get their vehicle inspected as soon as possible to ensure their safe motoring, he added.

The company continues to maintain a strong network of Chevrolet authorised service operations, with a pan India presence in 134 cities, and over 160 service workshops to take care of its customers, it noted.

In 2015, General Motors had announced to invest USD 1 billion in India to enhance manufacturing operations and roll out 10 locally produced models in the country over the next five years.

In January 2018, the Detroit-based firm put on hold its investments in new models for the country as it undertook a full review of its future product portfolio in India.

On May 18, 2018, General Motors suddenly decided to stop selling its vehicles in India.

The company has now even stopped exporting vehicles from its manufacturing plant at Talegaon in Maharashtra.

GM India used to sell models like Beat, Sail and Cruze in the country.