Troubled airbag maker Takata plummets on bankruptcy fears

Tokyo : Takata suffered another crushing collapse on Thursday, plummeting more than 50 percent on fears the troubled airbag maker at the centre of the auto industry's biggest-ever safety recall is headed for bankruptcy.

The Tokyo-based auto parts giant, facing lawsuits and huge recall-related costs over a bag defect linked to at least 16 deaths globally, has tumbled for four straight days. 

It is now worth less than a quarter of its value from just a week ago when a report by Japan's leading Nikkei business daily said it would seek bankruptcy protection and sell its assets to a US company.

At Thursday's close, the embattled stock had plummeted 55 percent to 110 yen ($1) from a day earlier.

"The shares are going to keep falling because the only buyers are day traders hoping to lock in gains from fluctuations in the price," Hiroaki Hiwata, a strategist at Toyo Securities, told AFP earlier.

Another Nikkei report Thursday said Takata, with liabilities exceeding one trillion yen, would file for bankruptcy protection as early as Monday.

Takata's major automaker clients reportedly support the bankruptcy plan.

The scandal-hit airbag firm and some of its car customers are facing legal claims they knew about the problem and kept silent about it.

Millions of vehicles produced by some of the largest firms, including Toyota and General Motors, are being recalled because of the risk that an airbag could improperly inflate and rupture, potentially firing deadly shrapnel at the occupants.

The ultimate cause of the malfunctions has not yet been identified but three factors are suspected: a chemical component, ammonium nitrate, that responds poorly to humidity; extreme climatic conditions, such as heat and high humidity; and faulty design.