Within a year of the infamous Volkswagen diesel-gate scandal, the automotive industry is all set to witness yet another epidemic that has come directly from the land of the rising sun – Japan. With miserable faces and bowed heads, the officials of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation confessed manipulating test data to improve fuel-economy claims of almost 6,00,000 vehicles including over 150,000 of its own brand’s light passenger cars and around 450,000 vehicles produced for Nissan. This is the very first time that a Japanese automotive organisation is involved in an emission scandal.
Following the confession, Mitsubishi Motors has halted the production and retailing of their affected cars and has initiated an investigation that will be conducted by an independent panel. Reportedly the methods of fuel economy testing carried out by the company were found out to be misleading and not in harmony with the Japanese regulations. At an objection taken by Nissan pointing towards inconsistencies in emissions data, Mitsubishi investigated and concluded that falsification of numbers has taken place. The 6,00,000 affected vehicles include eK Wagon, eK Space, Dayz and Dayz Roox.
The scandal intensely affected Mitsubishi’s market value and plunged it to a new low. For now, Mitsubishi and Nissan are working on the compensation that they will have to provide their customers with. Mitsubishi Motors is not new to these problems it has been facing such issues from a very long time. Back in 2000, the company was found guilty for hiding vital information of their defective vehicle standards and as a result, some officials were arrested.