Italy Court Allows Class Action Against Stellantis Over Faulty Airbags

A civil court in Turin, Italy, has ruled admissible a class action suit against Stellantis concerning potentially faulty airbags made by Japanese automotive parts company Takata, Stellantis and two consumer groups behind the legal action said on Monday.

Affected vehicle owners have 150 days to join the class action, the two consumer groups Codacons and Altroconsumo said in two separate statements. They added that a court hearing on the case had been adjourned to November 21.

Similar legal actions against Stellantis have already been launched in France.

Stellantis took note of the court’s decision, saying in a statement it was working “tirelessly” on its recall campaign and was reserving “the right to consider any appropriate initiative in the context of the ongoing proceedings.”

It noted that the decision “concerns only the admissibility of the class action, and neither the alleged liability of (Stellantis) nor the damages claimed, the assessment of which is postponed to a later stage of the proceedings.”

The Codacons association, which filed the class action request on behalf of other consumer groups as well, said requested compensation could amount to up to 285 million euros ($323 million).

Stellantis launched last year a vast “Stop Drive” recall campaign for Takata airbags affecting hundreds of thousands of Citroen and DS models made between 2009 and 2019 and located in 24 different countries in Southern Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

These airbags can cause serious injuries or death because the chemicals they contain can deteriorate in hot and humid weather conditions, causing them to deploy with too much force, according to the company’s recall statement.

Takata Group filed for bankruptcy in 2017.

Stellantis was created in early 2021 through the merger of France’s Peugeot and Citroen maker PSA and Italian-American group Fiat Chrysler. Its other brands include Jeep and Alfa Romeo.

($1 = 0.8817 euros)

(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari, editing by Alvise Armellini and Aurora Ellis)