Mitsubishi initially said it used fuel economy testing methods that did not comply with Japanese regulations since 2002, for later to admit it has started to manipulate the mileage data as early as 1991.
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“For the domestic market, we have been using that method since 1991”, Mitsubishi Vice President Ryugo Nakao told a Tokyo news briefing.
Even though the automaker has disclosed that it had been using an incorrect test, Mitsubishi says it is still trying to determine why this test was chosen at the time.
The latest scandal facing Mitsubishi Motors has wiped more than $3 billion (2 billion pounds) off the company’s market value since it admitted to the wrongdoing last week.
The company said the cars were only sold in Japan, but the investigation would cover overseas.
Aggressive internal targets might have put pressure on employees to overstate the fuel economy of its vehicles, it said, adding that it will set up an external committee to investigate the matter.
Mark Rosekind of the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the recent news has opted them to collect more data for an investigation.
The Tokyo-based company had repeatedly promised to come clean after a massive scandal 15 years ago involving a systematic cover-up of vehicle defects.
Mitsubishi has become embroiled in a fuel economy scandal. Mitsubishi noted that affected cars were limited to sale in Japan.
The discrepancy was discovered by Nissan Motor Co., which was being delivered 468,000 Dayz Roox vehicles from Mitsubishi.
Tetsuro Aikawa, Mitsubishi Motors’ president, said an inquiry was continuing, suggesting that more irregularities could be found. Last week’s admission revealed that 625,000 mini cars’ fuel economy ratings were exaggerated by 10 percent.
Since so much is still unknown, it is uncertain what the company will do next, said Aikawa.
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Mitsubishi Motors hasn’t chosen how it will compensate consumers, stated Aikawa, who also informed press reporters he had not been knowledgeable about the poor testing.
