Regulators order Takata to recall all faulty airbags in US Takata crash-test dummy: the Japanese group has seen its shares fall drastically amid safety flaws in its airbags US regulators have stepped up the pressure on Takata, the airbag manufacturer at the centre of a global recall crisis affecting millions of cars. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wrote to the Japanese car parts maker on Wednesday and formally demanded that the company initiate a nationwide recall of defective airbags or face fines of up to $35m. Owners of about 7.8m vehicles in the US from 10 carmakers have been urged by the regulator to have the affected airbags fixed. Inflators in the safety devices can deploy with too much force, spraying shrapnel into the faces of drivers. The defect has been linked to at least four deaths in the US and numerous injuries, including an incident in Florida which left the driver with no sight in one eye and requiring 100 facial stitches, according to NHTSA. Takata had previously said it did not agree that a nationwide recall was necessary, believing the matter only affected areas of high humidity and that extending the geographical scope would further delay repairs. "However, Takata has not provided any new information to support its position that a regional recall is appropriate, nor has Takata provided any explanation for driver-side airbag ruptures that have occurred outside the areas of high absolute humidity," said Frank Borris, director of the Office of Defects Investigation, in the letter addressed to Kazuo Higuchi, Takata senior vice-president. Mr Borris told the Japanese manufacturer to file a report by December 2 that identified a defect in "driver's side airbag inflators and is nationwide in scope." Failure to do so would expose Takata to fines of $7,000 per violation, he said. Civil penalties related to recalls are capped at $35m, though the regulator has asked that the limit be raised to $300m for future violations. Takata said it was looking into the matter. The company's shares have fallen by almost 60 per cent since January. Japanese regulators had said earlier on Wednesday they had received reports of an "unusual deployment" of a Takata airbag, which shot out shrapnel as it was being removed from a scrapped car, raising the prospect that recalls could be expanded in the country. NHTSA's demands to Takata also came after the regulator criticised Fiat Chrysler Automobiles for its slow response to the airbag crisis, saying the Italian-American carmaker was at the "rear of the pack" and needed to start a nationwide recall. FCA said it was reviewing the letter. Honda and FCA, the two carmakers facing the biggest problems with faulty Takata airbags, last week blamed information provided by the Japanese supplier for delaying a comprehensive recall of affected vehicles.