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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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