Mitsubishi has admitted to using over-inflated tyre pressure to present better fuel consumption figures than the actual figures. The cheat was caught by Nissan when it noticed irregularities in data for its cars which are manufactured by Mitsubishi.
After the huge uproar and media circus following the Volkswagen emission scandal, automakers are finding themselves under increased scrutiny from all sectors of society for alleged inappropriate business activities. Now the news has arrived that the latest car manufacturer to admit its wrongdoing is Mitsubishi, which says that it has been using incorrect testing methods to report fuel economy numbers for cars made by the company.
Mitsubishi has confessed that it has falsified fuel consumption data for 1,57,000 models of the eK Wagon and eK Space and 4,68,000 models of Nissan’s Dayz and Dayz Roox kei cars. Unlike Volkswagen which had the might of the best German automotive engineers to craft their evil system, Mitsubishi’s method is a bit more pedestrian. They simply overinflated their tyres in order to cheat the rolling road test and get more fuel efficiency out of the car.
Both Mitsubishi and Nissan have issued a stop-sale regarding the affected models, with the two companies now discussing about the compensation to be offered. Mitsubishi has also found during their internal investigation that the illegal testing method has been used for other models manufactured by them for the Japanese market as well, thereby compounding their problems. The company will also conduct an investigation for their models that are available to markets outside Japan too. Volkswagen is recalling millions of cars worldwide as a result of the scandal and has set aside €6.7 billion to cover costs.
The news has led to the shares of Mitsubishi Motors to close down 131 yen at 733 yen in Tokyo – their biggest one-day fall in nearly 12 years. The latest scandal is another blow to the automotive industry’s reputation in recent times after the Volkswagen emission fiasco and the Takata airbag recall.
Mitsubishi Admits Falsifying Fuel Consumption Data
– Mitsubishi has admitted to have used illegal testing methods for reporting fuel efficiency data
– The cheat was caught by Nissan which caught the irregularities in kei cars sold by Nissan but made by Mitsubishi
– Both Mitsubishi and Nissan have issued a stop-sale regarding the affected models
