BMW, Venture to recall 1.36 million cars in China over airbag risks, regulator says

German carmaker BMW and its joint venture will recall a total of 1.36 million locally produced and imported cars in China due to potential risks related to the Takata airbag, China’s market regulator said on Friday.

The recalls, effective immediately, are for models produced between 2003 and 2017, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement.

BMW Brilliance Automotive, a joint venture based in northeast China, will recall 598,496 Chinese-made cars, while BMW China Automobile Trading will recall 759,448 imported cars, the regulator said.

For vehicles confirmed to be defective after inspection, BMW will replace the driver’s front airbag free of charge to eliminate safety hazards, the statement said.

Related: BMW to recall more than 390,000 vehicles in the US for inflating faulty airbags

The recall concerns BMW cars with steering wheel retrofits by car owners who may have installed faulty Takata airbags, the statement said.

The German automaker also recalled 394,000 vehicles in the United States because of defective Takata airbag inflators that could cause serious injury or death, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in July.

BMW China did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Farah Master, Zoey Zhang and writing in Beijing; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Muralikumar Anantharaman)