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April 27, 2016

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Mitsubishi says it ‘cheated’ on fuel economy tests for 25 years

Source: Agencies | April 27, 2016, Wednesday | Print Edition

JAPANESE carmaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp yesterday said it used fuel economy testing methods that did not comply with Japanese regulations for 25 years, much longer than previously known.

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.

Japan’s sixth-largest carmaker has lost half its market value — about US$3.9 billion — since it admitted last week to manipulating test data for four domestic mini-vehicle models, including two it produced for Nissan Motor Co.

It said also that more models might have used tests non-compliant with Japanese standards, prompting concern about ballooning potential compensation costs and fines. The United States auto safety regulator is also seeking information, while Japanese authorities have raided one of the company’s research and development facilities.

Mitsubishi Motors said it used appropriate testing methods on vehicles sold in the US, and had no indications of data manipulation in vehicles sold in other overseas markets.

It said it had been submitting non-compliant data to Japan’s transport ministry since 1991. It previously said such non-compliance went back to 2002.

Ryugo Nakao, executive vice president, said Japanese regulations changed in 1991 to require testing methods to better reflect stop-and-go urban driving, but Mitsubishi Motors did not follow that rule change.

“We should have switched, but it turns out we didn’t,” he said.

A committee of external experts will report the results of its investigation in three months, he said.

Nakao added that repeatedly raised internal fuel economy targets during the development of the affected models might have contributed to the cheating.

“Judging by what the investigations have shown so far, it seems there was pressure,” he told reporters.

Another executive, Koji Yokomaku, said the company raised its fuel economy targets five times in two years while developing the mini-vehicles, to 29.2 kilometers per liter from an initial 26.4.

Chief Operating Officer Tetsuro Aikawa, who was on the team that developed the eK Wagon, said he had no idea the readings were being falsified.

“I was totally unaware this was happening. It’s a problem that this issue didn’t come up until now,” he said.

The carmaker has said it compiled data for fuel economy tests using US standards, where higher-speed, highway driving is common, rather than Japanese standards, where more prevalent city driving commonly consumes more fuel. Mitsubishi Motors said the US testing method might have been used as it is shorter and would save time.

Japan’s transport ministry said it found irregularities with the way Mitsubishi compiled mileage data on models other than the four mini-vehicles. It said it wanted an explanation by May 11.

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