Airbag retainer

The invention relates to airbag retainer (20) for housing and holding an airbag (10). The retainer (20) comprises a upper retainer (21) for housing an airbag (10) and a lower retainer (31) for holding an inflator (I). The upper and lower retainer (21,31) are provided with flange-shaped fastening portions (23,33) in overlying relationship. In order to reduce the weight of the airbag retainer (20), special materials are chosen for the upper and the lower retainer (21,31). In a first aspect, the upper retainer (21) is made of a light metal containing at least one of magnesium or aluminium, while the lower retainer (31) is made of steel. In a second aspect, the upper retainer (21) is made ofsteel having a thickness in the range of 0.8mm to 1.2mm and the lower retainer (31)is made of metal.