‘Back at square one’ with recalls, says minister

Half of the cars on Cyprus’ roads have been imported secondhand and, despite efforts to move forward with the replacement of faulty Takata airbags following deaths and injuries, Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades said on Tuesday that “we are back at square one”.

“We are at the same point as we were in 2017,” Vafeades said, reminding that the inquiry into the history of recalls found him not at fault, on the contrary in its report it stated that the minister had made “agonising and painstaking efforts to manage the situation he inherited”.

Speaking on CyBC radio, Vafeades said the MPs who sped to criticise him had not had time to study the report, which looked into what had been done over the past 15 years.

Vafeades said he had testified before the commission about everything he had done in the 18 months since he was appointed minister.

“The problem started 15 years ago and is still there […] the problem still exists,” he said.

Explaining the problem, Vafeades said there was no chain of information for the owners of grey cars, those important secondhand from abroad.

“In the absence of information, all these problems arise. Has the chain been restored? The answer is no. Has an alternative been set up? Yes, an honourable effort has been made by MPs for some information to be given. However, the notification of owners of grey cars has not been restored. So, we are at the same point we were in 2017,” Vafeades said.

The minister said he has been “accused of negligence and not understanding the issue”.

“What has happened is that a number of cars have been identified and recalls are being made for the airbags. But let us not forget that the recalls are not only about Takata airbags. They are for brakes, petrol pumps, air-conditioners. All these can be very dangerous and all these problems continue to exist,” he said.

Vafeades pointed out that what has been done about the grey cars happened on his watch.

“On January 30, we learned how many grey cars are affected. Because until that day the distributors said ‘we don’t know, we won’t tell you, we are not obliged to tell you’. When they did respond, they did so for other reasons and only for Takata,” he said.

Furthermore, “the manufacturers said they would not concern themselves with grey cars in the future.”

“The grey car owners are in the same place they were in 2017,” Vafeades reiterated.

The minister said the inquiry had carried out a huge investigation and come up with suggestions, which “open a window of hope” that solutions can be found.

He added that his European counterparts have told him that they do nothing about the grey cars. “But we can’t do that because we have 400,000 cars on the road that are grey cars.”

Vafeades raised another question. “When we are finished with Takata, will we be OK? Will we not have a problem with the other recalls that haven’t been executed?”

Referring to his ministry’s announcement about the rehaul of the Road Transport Department (TOM), Vafeades said there are clear plans to separate the monitoring of the market and the vehicle approvals.

He also said a vehicle technical directorate would be set up, having been scrapped in 2019. If this directorate had indeed been set up then, “it would have amassed expertise in handling these issues and we would have had ten experts today,” Vafeades pointed out.

The minister also defended his decision to instruct the road safety council to study the report and submit proposals. “The law says this is the authority to do so and this is the one I will be using,” he said.

EU guidance will also be sought, he added.

The issue of airbags stems from the production of faulty airbags by Japanese company Takata. The company’s airbags suffer a fault related to exposure to high levels of heat or humidity, which means they have a tendency to explode when released under such circumstances.

This explosion shoots the airbag’s metal inflator outwards and in the direction of the person it was designed to protect, potentially causing further injuries or, in some cases, death.

Faulty airbags have caused two deaths in Cyprus, those of Styliani Giorgalli last year and Kyriakos Oxinos in 2023, while Alexandros Lougos has so far undergone 21 surgeries to restore his face after being involved in an accident in 2017.

The parents of both Kyriakos Oxinos and Styliani Giorgalli have lashed out at Vafeades after the report was published, accusing him of stalling and indifference.