The defective air bags made by Takata which have caused four deaths rise both automaker companies and costumers’ concerns. The affected companies Honda and Toyota have called back 7.5 millions cars in total to replace the defected airbags. Although both Honda and Toyota have issue public warning and are prepared to do whatever the car owners ask them to do, recalling millions of cars that have serious safety issue not only undermines companies’ credibility, prevent consumers from purchasing their cars, but also let the companies suffer financial lost for billions of dollars. For the manufacturer Takata, its stock plunged by 23 percent in Tokyo trading.

Having safe air bags in the vehicles are considered as points of parities(what consumers expect). Any companies which fail to satisfy any points of parity  can suffer several financial and credibility loss. As two of the world’s largest automakers, having to recall millions of vehicles that were manufactured in the last two years can have a catastrophic impact on companies credibility. Consumers who were about to purchase vehicles from them would turn to purchase vehicles made by other manufacturers since they don’t want to risk their lives on a defective air bag. Even though Honda and Toyota eventually replace all the defective air bags, their credibility will never return to the level before they had air bag issues. In the future, consumers will still concern of the safety of their vehicles. For Honda and Toyota, they need to show their sincerity to their costumers and have public apologize in order to save as much the company’s image as possible.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/toyota-honda-deadly-air-bag-crisis-deepens/article21192065/