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Mitsubishi admits to cheating in fuel economy tests

Mitsubishi Motors has admitted to rigging the fuel economy tests of 6,25,000 cars. All the affected models are mini-cars, mainly sold in Japan.

The company has released a statement saying that it conducted testing improperly to present better fuel consumption figures than the actual figures. The testing method adopted was also different from the one required by Japanese law.

The affected car models include the eK Wagon and eK Space, which are sold under the Mitsubishi brand name and the Dayz and Dayz Roox, which have been manufactured by Mitsubishi and supplied to Nissan. Up until the end of March 2016, Mitsubishi has sold 1,57,000 units of the eK Wagon and eK Space and supplied 4,68,000 units of the Dayz and Dayz Roox to Nissan. While Mitsubishi has stopped production of these cars, Nissan has stopped sales of the affected cars.

Since Mitsubishi developed the cars, it was responsible for obtaining the relevant certifications and conducted fuel consumption testing. In the process of the development for the next generation of mini-car products, Nissan examined the fuel consumption figures and found irregularities. Nissan requested Mitsubishi to review the running resistance (rolling resistance mainly generated by tyres and air resistance while vehicles are moving) values set by Mitsubishi.

In the course of the internal investigation launched by the company, it learned of the improper conduct that was used the running resistance value for testing, which provided better fuel economy figures than the actual figures.

Mitsubishi has also decided to conduct an investigation into products manufactured for overseas markets.

 
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