Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades, speaking on Mesimeri Kai Kati in response to MP Kyriakos Hadjigiannis’s call for his resignation over the Takata airbags issue, clarified that he has no intention of stepping down.
“The ministry’s efforts to address a problem that has existed since 2010 are clear,” Vafeades stated. “Written reports regarding European vehicles from third countries have been on record at the Department of Road Transport (DRT) since 2017, highlighting that distributors cannot manage these cases. This problem has existed since 2017, and it only reached us in 2023. Since then, we have been working to resolve it. I ask those who are now shouting and demanding my resignation—what did they do in 2017? How did they handle this issue? What actions did they take to assist these citizens?”
He went on to highlight a specific challenge in Cyprus: “Sixty percent of vehicles here are imports from third countries. We discovered that these lack an information chain from the manufacturer to the owner. Only manufacturers know which equipment is subject to recall, and they notify distributors in batches. This chain is not controlled by the state, which has no knowledge of each vehicle’s equipment. In the case of imported vehicles, this information is missing, and we are working to restore it.”
Regarding payments to companies for recall-related checks, Vafeades insisted these should be free of charge: “I would pay under protest if it were a safety issue. Distributors linked to manufacturers are obligated to address this. The Consumer Protection Service must determine if these charges are illegal.”
If companies fail to respond about whether a vehicle is subject to recall, the minister advised owners to check the manufacturer’s website themselves.
Also read: Takata airbags: lethal threats – potential vehicle immobilisation
