The company said it has found evidence that its employees falsified the data.
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“In response to Nissan’s request, Mitsubishi admitted that data had been intentionally manipulated in its fuel economy testing process for certification”, Nissan said. We express deep apologies to all of our customers and stakeholders for this issue.
“This is not a simple problem and we need time (to assess the impact)”, Mitsubishi’s top executive said.
Mitsubishi Motors is the first Japanese automaker to report misconduct involving fuel economy tests since Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) was discovered previous year to have cheated diesel emissions tests in the United States and elsewhere.
The news sent shares in the world’s sixth-largest automaker plunging 15 percent in Wednesday’s trading session.
The two companies agreed to pay a combined $100 million fine in the U.S.in 2014 for overstating fuel economy estimates for many of their vehicles.
The announcement sent shares down 15 per cent in the country on Wednesday morning – the biggest one-day drop in 12 years. It disclosed the details after the market closed.
None of these cars are sold in India.
Such arrangements are increasingly common in the global automobile industry, as manufacturers pursue greater scale in an effort to lower costs.
Around 625,000 vehicles are said to have been affected, 468,000 of them produced for Nissan.
Mitsubishi said the discrepancies had been found after Nissan reported inconsistencies. Taking into account the seriousness of these issues, we will also conduct an investigation into products manufactured for overseas markets, read the statement issued by the company. “Mitsubishi Motors will sincerely respond to our customers who own and use the applicable cars”.
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All of the vehicles in question have very small engines – the powerplant in the eK Space, for instance, has a displacement of 40 cubic inches (659 cubic centimeters) and generates less than 50 horsepower, according to the Automobile Catalog site. They also resolved claims from auto owners. However, you can be sure that tests are going to be undertaken to see what’s going on with other vehicles made by the company.
