Chinese regulators have recalled a record 8.8 million vehicles in the first seven months -- double the number recalled in the same period a year earlier, China Daily reported.

 

The recalls included 4.8 million vehicles that had defective airbags or seat belts, the state-owned newspaper reported, citing Yan Fengmin, chief of law enforcement at the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

 

Most of the airbag recalls are intended to replace unsafe inflators produced by Takata Corp., the world's No. 2 supplier of automotive airbags.

 

Takata used an unstable propellant that tended to deteriorate when exposed to heat and humidity. When the airbag deployed, the inflators sometimes exploded, spewing metal shards into the cabin.

 

However, the largest single recall for any brand involved SAIC General Motors Co., which recalled 2.2 million vehicles in May to fix engine defects.