Japanese automaker Mitsubishi recently admitted that they cheated on economy tests on Japanese K-cars. Over 600,000 cars were reportedly involved in the falsification scandal.
Improper methods were allegedly used to make many Japanese domestic market models appear more fuel-efficient, although these may not actually have been deemed street-worthy.
“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,” said president Tetsuro Aikawa. He added that he was unaware of the cheating until an investigation triggered by the Volkswagen dieselgate scandal was conducted and revealed the irregularities. Tetsuro and other company executives felt responsible for the issue and bowed before the media to apologize for the recent revelation.
Mitsubishi is the sixth largest car manufacturer in Japan, but shares in the company dropped by 15 percent in Tokyo trading after the recent news.
Car Magazine notes Mitsubishi in stating that it discovered evidence that the partial emissions and fuel consumption tests conducted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) were faked on hundreds of thousands of Japanese domestic market K-cars. Mitsubishi confessed that they over-inflated the tires to alter their driving properties and flatten the mileage rates. Some models that were made for Nissan were also included. 468,000 Nissan Dayz and Roox tallboy city cars and 157,000 of the Mitsubishi eK Wagon and eK Space comprised the total. However, no UK models were allegedly involved in the falsification.
Pending investigation, Mitsubishi has suspended the sale and production of the four models. The models are dubbed minicars, featuring small engines with great mileage. The cars were made starting in March 2013. According to Nissan, Mitsubishi admitted to them that the data were manipulated intentionally.
Lance Bradley, UK managing director, assured customers that only Japanese-market cars were confirmed to have cheated on emissions tests. He continued that Mitsubishi acted quickly and decisively and that there is no evidence to suggest that models in Europe are affected.
The Washington Post wrote that Mitsubishi stated that it will continue to investigate whether information was also altered for its vehicles sold abroad. It is possible that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will monitor Mitsubishi vehicles more closely in the U.S., although they will not be a priority because of their limited numbers.
More updates and details on the Mitsubishi cheating scandal are expected soon.
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