Filenews 4 February 2025 - by Charalambos Zakos
Of the 82,000 vehicles of all brands recalled, 53,387 belong to just three companies, which will have to face not only the challenge of urgently introducing large numbers of airbags, but also the huge labour costs – and possibly the reinforcement of their staff – to replace the airbags.
The president of the Association of Importers of Motor Vehicles (SEMO), Alexis Anninos, asked by "F" to comment on the new data after the decrees, stressed that the cost for general distributors will be large and without, as he underlines, being responsible. As he noted, the working hours, the cost they will have to pay, but also the rest of the regular work of the crews that will have to continue unhindered, are a headache for distributors.
According to the Decrees published yesterday by the Minister of Transport, Alexis Vafeadis, about 82,000 vehicles are on the recall and replacement lists of airbags. According to official data, of the 82,000 vehicles, 53,387, or more than 65% of all recalls, concern just three brands: 27,111 Toyota vehicles, 16,023 Mazda vehicles and 10,253 Honda vehicles.
As can be easily understood, these three companies will have to face great challenges, since in addition to replacing defective airbags, they will have to ensure that their workshops can serve both the owners of the affected vehicles and their own customers for repairs for service.
Staff problem
Undoubtedly, the decisions greatly affect general dealers in Cyprus, who in no way could have been prepared for mass car recalls.
Indicatively, the recent example of a specific company in Cyprus, which faced a problem even in its call center, due to the large number of phone calls and was eventually forced to create a new communication line, staffed specifically for information about recalls.
Another problem that companies will have to solve is the number of staff in their workshops, which in no way, based on today's data, can serve the thousands of cars they will receive for airbag replacement.
Added to all this is the possibility of delays in the delivery of so many thousands of airbags, since on the one hand they will first have to be imported to Cyprus via ships - something that will take time - and on the other hand possible shortages in the market will be addressed, for which a number of importers are also worried.
How many cars are recalled by brand:
TOYOTA 27,111
MAZDA 16,023
HONDA 10,253
BMW 6,316
NISSAN 6,136
MITSUBISHI 4,213
VOLKSWAGEN 2,815
AUDI 2,414
MERCEDES 1,697
OPEL 1,042
CHEVROLET 520
SUBARU 459
CITROEN 374
SEAT 308
JAGUAR-LAND ROVER –RANGE
ROVER 217
FORD 200
SKODA 190
LEXUS 133
JEEP 38
CHRYSLER 26
TESLA 26
DAIHATSU 5
VAUXHALL 4
DODGE 2
An extension may be needed for replacements
Although the data is fluid, precisely because of the large number of airbags that will have to be imported and replaced, it is not excluded that it will be decided to grant an extension, after the eight months indicated in the decrees.
In fact, another parameter that concerns is whether there are much more than 82,000 vehicles with TAKATA that have not yet been identified and, on the other hand, the possibility that for those cars that are called for airbag replacement there will be recalls for other defective parts, which will certainly delay the whole process even more.
