Mazda to stop using Takata air bag inflators containing ammonium nitrate

TOKYO (Reuters) - Mazda Motor Corp on Thursday said it would not use air bag inflators manufactured by Takata Corp (7312.T) containing ammonium nitrate in its new cars after such products were banned by U.S. regulators the previous day.

"We will not use Takata air bag inflators which contain ammonium nitrate in our new cars," Akira Marumoto, Executive Vice President Akira Marumoto told reporters.

Mazda, Japan's fourth-largest automaker by sales, joins a growing number of Japanese automakers including Honda Motor Co which are shunning the supplier's air bag inflators which contain ammonium nitrate.

U.S. regulators said Takata's inflators use a chemical propellant they suspect causes the air bag to explode with too much force, spraying metal shards into the car.

(Reporting by Kentaro Sugiyama; Editing by Christopher Cushing)