Detroit

US auto safety regulators have ordered Japanese supplier Takata Corp to provide documents and answer questions under oath related to the government's ongoing probe of potentially defective Takata air bags in millions of US vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sent a special order to the supplier's American unit, TK Holdings Inc, ordering delivery of the documents by Dec 1.

Takata spokesman Alby Berman said on Thursday the company "is cooperating fully with NHTSA and is working to meet their requests". For the past 18 months, Takata has been besieged by chronic, widespread problems with defective inflators in its air bags, which can explode and spray metal shards into vehicle occupants.