Out of this total figure, 4,68,000 mini cars were made for Nissan and 1,57,000 cars were sold under the Mitsubishi name itself.
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The company revealed that it found evidence its employees falsified fuel economy test data for several models of the vehicle.
“It’s contrary to government regulation, it’s theoretically imperilling the environment to some degree where as the Mitsubishi thing is just lying to customers and suggesting the vehicle is going to give better fuel economy than is probably the case”. Mitsubishi found that it had been using a running resistance value based on tire and air resistance during testing to arrive at a more favorable gas mileage rating, and that the improper testing was intentional.
Tetsuro Aikawa, President of Mitsubishi Motors Corp., said the misconduct was reported to Japan’s transportation ministry, the Associated Press reported.
Apparently it was Nissan that discovered the data discrepancy during their own internal tests.
The company’s shares fell 15 percent in Tokyo after the revelations, marking the largest decline in Mitsubishi Motors stock in more than a decade, Bloomberg reported. The two Japanese automakers have collaborated on tiny automobiles such as the Mitsubishi eK and the Nissan Dayz, which are very popular in the Japanese nation. Sales of the Nissan models have been halted while Mitsubishi says it will begin discussions on the matter of compensation.
In a statement, Mitsubishi Motors Australia (MMAL) said it “wishes to clarify that none of these mini-car models are sold in the Australian market”.
Lance Bradley, Managing Director, Mitsubishi Motors in the United Kingdom said: “Mitsubishi Motors Corporation has acted quickly and decisively”.
Mitsubishi has stopped producing the four models affected by the faulty tests. The list includes auto manufacturers like Volkswagen, Hyundai, and Ford.
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The company is planning to start an investigation to verify whether data was falsified for vehicles sold overseas.
