Mercedes-Benz, the global automobile manufacturer, and its Chinese joint ventures will recall 351,218 vehicles because of potential issues with airbags that are made by Japan’s Takata Corp, China’s quality watchdog stated Friday. The brand is known for luxury vehicles, buses, coaches, and trucks. The airbags deploy with too much force and spray shrapnel. Official Chinese estimates showed more than 20 million cars in China had airbags made by Takata, which have been related to the cause of at least 16 deaths and 180 injuries worldwide. The defect is now the main cause behind the biggest recall in automotive history. The Japanese maker could eventually go bankrupt because it had become burdened with tens of billions of dollars worth of liabilities. The recall by Mercedes-Benz and its Chinese joint ventures will begin from Oct. 15 and will include domestically built and imported cars produced from 2006 through 2012, with models including the SLK-Class and A-Class, the AQSIQ said. The Chinese watchdog asked the three automakers in July to recall vehicles in China affected by potentially faulty Takata air bags. Up to that time, the automakers had proposed recalling a small number of vehicles for testing and analysis, Reuters reported.