BEIJING - US automaker General Motors (GM) and its China joint venture Shanghai GM will recall more than 2.5 million vehicles in China due to faulty passenger-seat airbag inflators, China's top quality watchdog has said.

Starting from Oct 29, the two companies will recall a total of 13,492 imported Saab and Opel vehicles, said the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ) in a statement on its website.

Another round of recall will begin on Dec 29, which will affect more than 2.51 million Chevrolet and Buick cars, according to GM China and Shanghai GM, a joint venture between GM and SAIC Motor.

The vehicles to be recalled are equipped with airbag inflators produced by Japanese manufacturer Takata that could explode and spray potentially fatal shrapnel inside the car, said the administration. The faulty inflator has been linked to numerous deaths and injuries worldwide.

In China, the faulty inflator involves 37 car manufacturers and more than 20 million vehicles, of which 24 carmakers had recalled 10.59 million vehicles by the end of June, according to GAQSIQ.

To eliminate safety risks, the two companies will replace the faulty airbags with a new type of airbags for free.