a complaint against X filed in France to understand why “Citroën was slow to act”

A first complaint against an unknown person has been filed in France, in the case of defective airbags from the Japanese brand Takata which equip several Citroën models from the manufacturer Stellantis. This complaint was filed by a collective of consumers “for endangering others, deception and misleading business practices”explained Christophe Lèguevaques, one of the lawyers for this group, on France Inter on Tuesday July 30.

It will allow justice to understand why “Citroën was slow to act”he explains. The company “had known about the problem with Takata airbags since 2014. That left ten years to prepare the replacement” of these defective airbags, deplores the lawyer.

“The investigation will have to determine the extent of the damage and how far back the responsibilities lie,” but Mr. Lèguevaques is convinced that “this risk was known and proven” by the company. “We know that last year, Citroën set aside a billion euros for this risk,” he assures.

He regrets that 200,000 customers are still waiting for an airbag change. According to Me Lèguevaques, Stellantis is spending “orders as they come” And “People are exasperated.” All the more so since “People were exposed to a mortal risk for ten years without being informed”he adds.

For its part, Stellantis said in a press release that it had replaced the Takata airbags in 43,000 Citroën, C3 and DS3 vehicles in France. The group added that 24,000 other cars are currently being processed and that 80,000 drivers whose vehicles are awaiting recall have not yet taken steps.