Japanese car maker Mitsubishi Motors Corp (7211.T) said on Tuesday it used fuel
economy testing methods that did not comply with Japanese regulations for 25
years, much longer than previously known.
It said
aggressive internal targets may have put pressure on employees to overstate the
fuel economy of its vehicles, and would set up an external committee to
investigate the matter.
Japan's
sixth-largest automaker has lost half its market value - some $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 (7201.T).
It has
also said that more models may have used tests non-compliant with Japanese
standards, prompting concern about ballooning potential compensation costs and
fines. The U.S 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 United
States, 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 only to at least 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 may 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 Mitsubishi Motors raised its fuel economy
targets five times in two years while developing the mini-vehicles, reaching
29.2 km (18.14 miles) per liter from an initial target of 26.4 kms per liter.
Chief
Operating Officer Tetsuro Aikawa, who was on the engineering team that
developed the original eK Wagon, said he had no idea the fuel economy readings
were being falsified. "I was totally unaware this was happening," he
said. "It's a problem that this issue didn't come up until now."
FASTER
TEST
The
automaker has said it compiled data for fuel economy tests using U.S.
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 U.S. testing method may have been used as it is
shorter and would save time.
Japan’s
transport ministry said it found irregularities with the way Mitsubishi Motors
compiled mileage data on models in addition to the four affected mini-vehicles.
It said it wanted an explanation for this from the company by May 11.
The
ministry earlier said it set up a task force to examine how other automakers
submit fuel economy data. Last week, it ordered other domestic automakers to
submit fuel economy test data by May 18.
The
misconduct has revived memories of a scandal more than 15 years ago in which
Mitsubishi Motors admitted systematically covering up customer complaints for
more than two decades, bringing the company close to collapse. It was bailed
out by other Mitsubishi Group companies.
Senior
officials at other Mitsubishi firms say it would be difficult for them to help
the car maker this time, if needed, as they face their own financial squeeze,
as well as calls to put shareholder returns above ties with the former
Mitsubishi business empire.
Takehiko
Kakiuchi, President and CEO of trading group Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T), told Reuters he as "aghast" at the
scandal engulfing its sister company.
(Reporting
by Naomi Tajitsu, with additional reporting by Maki Shiraki and Yuka Obayashi;
Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Ian Geoghegan)
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