Mitsubishi Motors has admitted falsifying fuel economy data for more than 600,000 vehicles sold in Japan.
“Tyre pressure figures were falsified by employees to flatter mileage rates,” Mitsubishi says.
Almost 470,000 Mitsubishi-built vehicles that were also rebadged for Nissan were affected and the issue was uncovered after Nissan found inconsistencies.
The announcement sent shares in Mitsubishi down more than 15% in Tokyo.
Mitsubishi Motors president Tetsuro Aikawa, says: “The wrongdoing was intentional. It is clear the falsification was done to make the mileage look better. But why they would resort to fraud to do this is still unclear.”
Although he was unaware of the irregularities, Aikawa adds: “I feel responsible.”
The inaccurate tests involved 157,000 of its own cars and 468,000 vehicles produced for Nissan. The issue affected models including Mitsubishi’s ek Wagon and eK Space, as well as Nissan’s Dayz and Dayz Roox.
All are ‘kei cars’ ultra-small cars with 660cc petrol engines and are popular in Japan due to dramatically lower registration costs. They have have found little success in other markets.
Mitsubishi Motors Australia (MMAL) says: “We have been informed of a certification process issue affecting four mini-car models manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors for the Japanese domestic market.”
“MMAL wishes to clarify that none of these mini-car models are sold in the Australian market,” the statement notes.
“Our parent company has found that the same testing method has been applied to other models manufactured by MMC for the Japanese domestic market.”
Lance Bradley, UK managing director of Mitsubishi Motors, said there was no evidence that any models sold in the UK or Europe were affected.
The company is Japan’s sixth-largest car maker and sold more than one million vehicles last year.
The issue was reported to Japan’s transportation ministry and Nissan told dealers to stop selling the affected vehicles. It was considering ways to help owners of the affected cars.
Mitsubishi’s announcement follows on from the Volkswagen’s emissions scandal last year, in which it was found to have cheated diesel emissions tests in the US and elsewhere.
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