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MitsubishiMotorsadmitsfalsifyingfueleconomytests
4hoursago Business
Reuters
MitsubishiMotorshasadmittedfalsifyingfueleconomydataformorethan600,000
vehiclessoldinJapan.
Tyrepressurefigureswerefalsifiedbyemployeestoflattermileagerates,thecompanysaid.
Almost470,000vehiclesthatMitsubishimadeforNissanwereaffectedandtheissuewas
uncoveredafterNissanfoundinconsistencies.
TheannouncementsentsharesinMitsubishidownmorethan15%inTokyo.
Companybosses,includingMitsubishiMotorspresidentTetsuroAikawa,boweddeeplyatthe
startofapressconferenceonWednesdayafternooninTokyo.
"Thewrongdoingwasintentional.Itisclearthefalsificationwasdonetomakethemileagelook
better.Butwhytheywouldresorttofraudtodothisisstillunclear,"hesaid.
Althoughhewasunawareoftheirregularities,MrAikawasaid:"Ifeelresponsible."
Theinaccuratetestsinvolved157,000ofitsowncarsand468,000vehiclesproducedfor
Nissan.
TheissueaffectedmodelsincludingMitsubishi'sekWagonandeKSpace,aswellasNissan's
DayzandDayzRoox.
GettyImages
Allare"minicars"with660ccpetrolenginesandarepopularinJapanbuthavefoundlittle
successinothermarkets.
LanceBradley,UKmanagingdirectorofMitsubishiMotors,saidtherewasnoevidencethatany
modelssoldintheUKorEuropewereaffected.
ThecompanyisJapan'ssixthlargestcarmakerandsoldmorethanonemillionvehicleslast
year,buthaslessthan1%oftheUKmarket.
TheissuewasreportedtoJapan'stransportationministryandNissantolddealerstostopselling
theaffectedvehicles.Itwasconsideringwaystohelpownersoftheaffectedcars.
SharesinMitsubishiMotorscloseddown131yenat733yeninTokyotheirbiggestonedayfall
innearly12years.
Analysis:RichardWestcott,BBCtransportcorrespondent
Westilldon'thaveallthedetails,butthisseemstocomedowntothewayMitsubishimeasured
milespergalloninthelab.
It'sdoneonathingcalledarollingroad,basicallyatreadmillforcars.
Youcanadjusthowresistantitis,thewayyou'dadjustthetreadmillinthegymtomakeitharder
oreasiertorun.
ItseemsMitsubishideliberatelyusedthewrongtyrepressures,asawayofcheatingthe
treadmilltesttogetmoremilespergallonoutofthecar.Artificiallyoverinflatedtyresgivebetter
results.
Interestingly,itlookslikeanothercarmaker,Nissan,foundthemout.
Thisisn'tremotelyaslargeorsophisticatedasthecheatusedbyVW.Butit'sanothernailinthe
coffinforthecarindustry'salreadydamagedreputation.
Scandals
Mitsubishistruggledforyearstoregainconsumertrustafteradefectsscandalintheearly2000s
thatcoveredupproblemssuchasfailingbrakes,faultyclutchesandfueltanksthatfelloff
vehicles.
ThisisthefirsttimethataJapanesecarmakerhasreportedmisconductinvolvingfueleconomy
tests.
In2014SouthKoreancarmakersHyundaianditsaffiliate,Kia,agreedtopay$350minUS
penaltiesforoverstatingtheirvehicles'fueleconomyratings.Theyalsoresolvedclaimsfromcar
owners.
Mitsubishi'sannouncementfollowsonfromtheVolkswagen'semissionsscandallastyear,in
whichitwasfoundtohavecheateddieselemissionstestsintheUnitedStatesandelsewhere.
VWisrecallingmillionsofcarsworldwideasaresultofthescandalandhassetaside6.7bn
(4.8bn)tocovercosts.
Mitsubishifueltestfurore
Over600,000
vehiclessoldinJapanhadtheirfueleconomydatafalsifiedbyMitsubishistaff
157,000ofthevehicleswereMitsubishimodels
468,000ofthevehicleswereNissanmodelsmadebyMitsubishi
15%theamountMitsubishisharesfellbyafterthecompany'sannouncement
Source:MitsubishiMotors Reuters
'Threediamonds'
Itresultedinthecompanypostingitsfirstquarterlylossfor15yearsof2.5bninlateOctober.
MitsubishiMotorsispartoftheMitsubishiGroup,whichincludesabout40individualcompanies.
Thegroupwasestablishedin1870asashippingcompanyanditsnameroughlytranslatesto
"threediamonds"henceitslogo.
ThemaindivisionsaretheMitsubishiUFJFinancialGroupMitsubishiCorporationJapan's
largestgeneraltradingcompanyandMitsubishiHeavyIndustrieswhichincludesatomic,
chemicalandpowersystemsdivisionsaswellasthecarmaker.
Areyouaffectedbythestory?DoyouownMitsubishi'sekWagon,eKSpace,Nissan's
DayzorDayzRoox?Shareyourcomments.Emailhaveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
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