Four mini-car models comprised the 625,000 vehicles in question, MMC said. The vehicles affected are the ek Wagon and eK Space by Mitsubishi and the Nissan Dayz and Dayz Roox. According to Nissan, Mitsubishi admitted to them that the data were manipulated intentionally. Mitsubishi Motors conducted an internal probe and found that tire pressure data was falsified to make mileage appear better than it actually was.
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The company said that it stopped production of the affected vehicles, both Mitsubishi and Nissan will suspend sales and discuss compensation for affected owners.
“Taking into account the seriousness of these issues, we will also conduct an investigation into products manufactured for overseas markets”, stated the vehicle maker.
Aikawa was asked if the latest impropriety highlighted how the company had not fundamentally fixed itself after the recall scandal, although it had promised repeatedly to come clean.
The act had been uncovered when Nissan noticed data inconsistencies. He added that it is a clear falsification to make the mileage look better.
A Japanese government spokesman said they were treating it as an “extremely serious case” and that it had ordered the company to submit a full report.
The data discrepancies were noticed a year ago by Nissan when working with Mitsubishi on developing a new generation of vehicles. However, soon after Mitsubishi admitted to falsifying test results, shares of the auto giant plunged a whopping 15%, which wiped off $1.2 billion of its market value.
Mitsubishi’s announcement follows last year’s revelation that Volkswagen had rigged diesel models with software to cheat emissions tests. However, it also sells large number of vehicles globally.
It isn’t the first time the manufacturer has been caught up in scandal – it required two bailouts in 2005 and 2005 after it was found to have covered up defects.
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Mitsubishi says it is investigating an apparent confession from a former manager that he instructed other employees to manipulate performance tests. He also revealed Mitsubishi Motors has been using test methods on passenger cars not compliant with Japanese standards since 2002.
