Documents show Volkswagen resisted Takata air-bag recall

Associated Press

DETROIT

Volkswagen resisted U.S. government efforts to recall more cars and trucks to fix potentially deadly Takata air bags – telling safety regulators that a recall isn’t necessary.

But the German automaker, already in hot water with the government for cheating on U.S. pollution tests, eventually agreed to the recall, according to documents posted Friday on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website.

Volkswagen AG is recalling about 850,000 Audi and VW vehicles in the U.S. from model years 2006 to 2014. But in a letter to the safety agency, the company said the request to recall most of the Volkswagens “may be overbroad.” The letter said most VW and Audi vehicles have air-bag inflators made at Takata’s factory in Freiberg, Germany, which have not experienced failures like those made in the U.S. and Mexico.