Honda will be fined $70 million (£46m) for failing to report 1,729 complaints that its vehicles caused deaths and injuries, the US government announced on Thursday.

The Japanese transnational admitted in November that it had failed to report death and injury complaints to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over an 11-year period.

It also failed to report warranty and customer satisfaction claims.

The safety administration is imposing $35m (£23m) fines for not reporting death and injury complaints and the same again for not reporting warranty and customer satisfaction claims, the maximum the agency is allowed to impose.

But Centre for Auto Safety director Clarence Ditlow said that it was too small a penalty.

“How many other deadly defects are concealed in the 1,729 claims not reported?” he asked.