Mitsubishi said last month it had fudged fuel efficiency tests in a scandal that has now spread to 13 models and goes back a quarter century. Both will resign on June 24, during the company’s annual shareholder meeting.
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Mitsubishi stock had plunged following the scandal. President Tetsuro Aikawa said Wednesday that he will step down to take responsibility for the mileage cheating scandal unfolding at the Japanese automaker.
In 2015, Suzuki sold 559,704 minicars, which compares with Daihatsu Motor’s 608,772 units, according to data from the Japan Light Motor Vehicle and Motorcycle Association. A successor was not announced.
Suzuki Motor Corp. has become the latest Japanese automaker to acknowledge problems with its fuel economy data, sources close to the matter said Wednesday.
Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) said on Wednesday that the issue of using improper fuel economy and emission tests faced by its parent company Suzuki Motor Corp (SMC) will not have any implications in India.
Government investigators are examining Mitsubishi’s improper fuel efficiency testing, which the company admits dates to 1991.
The skeletons have started to tumble out of the closet for auto manufacturers as Suzuki has come forward to admit that it conducted fuel economy tests which were not fully compliant with the laws. However, unlike Mitsubishi, which stopped production of the affected cars, the company has said that it will continue selling its vehicles.
Other automakers have been penalized in recent years for putting a rosy spin on fuel economy figures. The government instructed all vehicle manufacturers to check on mileage tests after the Mitsubishi scandal surfaced.
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Suzuki chairman Osamu Suzuki appeared before reporters at the transport ministry and bowed to apologise. This is still the biggest single drop in the company’s share price in seven years, reports Bloomberg, but the admission has affected the company far less than similar news affected Mitsubishi.
