Japanese company Takata will have to pay up to $1 billion to settle a case against it in the United States for faulty airbags that led a number of producers to recall vehicles, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The sum could also come in in the high hundreds of millions.
The U.S. Department of Justice is currently negotiating with Takata and there is still a possibility that the company will plead guilty to criminal charges. Takata is being accused on criminal misconduct in the airbags case.
The report says that people close to the matter said an agreement could be reached soon, as the parties hope to have a final deal in January. However, it is possible the case will take a little longer to settle.
Official data shows that 29 million vehicles with 46 million Takata airbags have been recalled so far.
Image: EPA / Kimimasa Mayama
