SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's FAW Car Co Ltd <000800.SZ>, a partner of Japan's Mazda Motor Corp <7261.T>, is recalling nearly 280,000 Mazda 6 cars due to issues with air bags that Mazda said were supplied by Japanese supplier Takata Corp <7312.T>.
The recall applies to Mazda 6 models produced from March 29, 2003 to Dec. 29, 2008, China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in a statement on its website on Friday.
The quality watchdog said the recall was a supplier-related issue. It said the airbag inflator could be damaged when the airbag opened, and shards could fly out and harm passengers. It did not name the supplier.
A Mazda spokeswoman said they are part of a recall announced in June to replace air bag inflators supplied by Takata, the company at the heart of massive recalls globally involving Japanese, U.S. and European automakers. Mazda is calling back about 2 million vehicles globally due to the air bag issue.
A Takata spokesman said the company was not aware of the FAW recall and declined to comment. FAW did not pick up calls or respond to an email seeking comment.
(Reporting by Kazunori Takada and Brenda Goh; Additional Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki in TOKYO and SHANGHAI Newsroom; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
