Bill Howard
Now it’s Mitsubishi in hot water over manipulating
test data in cars. Mitsubishi Motors this week says it modified the
“running resistance,” a combination tire resistance and wind resistance,
that’s required in Japan. It affects 625,000 kei cars, or minicars,
built by Mitsubishi and sold mostly in Japan by Mitsubishi and Nissan.
The tests overstated actual fuel economy by 5-10%.
Mitsubishi built the cars for its own use and for sale by Nissan. Nissan appears to have double-checked the data with its own numbers, discovered discrepancies between the reported test data and real world economy, and Mitsubishi then fessed up. The mishandling of the test data was “intentional,” said Mitsubishi president Tetsuro Aikawa bowed in apology at a press conference today in Tokyo and said the modification of the data was “intentional.”
The
impact of this current cheating scandal is minimal in the US. Neither
Mitsubishi nor Nissan sell these vehicles here. The kei cars (minicars)
can be at most 130 inches (3.3 meters) long and 58 inches wide (1.48
meters). They can be as much as 78 inches tall (2 meters) and they’re
boxy to maximize the space inside. Also, they’re limited to engines of
660 cc; Americans have riding mowers with bigger engines.
The affected vehicles are the eK Wagon (inset photo) and eK space, built by Mitsubishi and sold by Mitsubishi; and the Dayz and Dayz Roox (photo above) built by Mitsibushi. The Mini is a foot and a half longer. From 2013-2016, Mitsubishi says, it sold 157,000 of the eK Wagon and eK Space, and supplied another 468,000 of the Dayz and Datz Rooks to Nissan, for a total of 625,000 vehicles.
Mitsubishi’s sales in its home market, Japan, were soft last year, down 18% to just over 100,000 units, while US sales are up 53% in two years and in 2015 were just under 100,000.
Mitsubishi issued a statement which read, in part:
Mitsubishi built the cars for its own use and for sale by Nissan. Nissan appears to have double-checked the data with its own numbers, discovered discrepancies between the reported test data and real world economy, and Mitsubishi then fessed up. The mishandling of the test data was “intentional,” said Mitsubishi president Tetsuro Aikawa bowed in apology at a press conference today in Tokyo and said the modification of the data was “intentional.”
Not sold here (too small)
The
impact of this current cheating scandal is minimal in the US. Neither
Mitsubishi nor Nissan sell these vehicles here. The kei cars (minicars)
can be at most 130 inches (3.3 meters) long and 58 inches wide (1.48
meters). They can be as much as 78 inches tall (2 meters) and they’re
boxy to maximize the space inside. Also, they’re limited to engines of
660 cc; Americans have riding mowers with bigger engines.The affected vehicles are the eK Wagon (inset photo) and eK space, built by Mitsubishi and sold by Mitsubishi; and the Dayz and Dayz Roox (photo above) built by Mitsibushi. The Mini is a foot and a half longer. From 2013-2016, Mitsubishi says, it sold 157,000 of the eK Wagon and eK Space, and supplied another 468,000 of the Dayz and Datz Rooks to Nissan, for a total of 625,000 vehicles.
Mitsubishi’s sales in its home market, Japan, were soft last year, down 18% to just over 100,000 units, while US sales are up 53% in two years and in 2015 were just under 100,000.
Mitsubishi’s statement
Mitsubishi issued a statement which read, in part:
In
connection with the certification process for the mini-cars
manufactured by MMC [Mitsubishi Motors Corp.], we found that with
respect to the fuel consumption testing data submitted to the Ministry
of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), MMC conducted
testing improperly to present better fuel consumption rates than the
actual rates; and that the testing method was also different from the
one required by Japanese law. We express deep apologies to all of our
customers and stakeholders for this issue.
Since
MMC developed the applicable cars and was responsible for obtaining the
relevant certifications, MMC conducted fuel consumption testing. In the
process of the development for the next generation of mini-car
products, NM [Nissan Motors] examined the fuel consumption rates of the
applicable cars for NM’s reference and found deviations in the figures.
NM requested MMC to review the running resistance [rolling resistance
(mainly generated by tires) and air resistance while vehicles are
moving] value set by MMC during tests by MMC. In the course of our
internal investigation upon this request, MMC learned of the improper
conduct that MMC used the running resistance value for testing which
provided more advantageous fuel consumption rates than the actual rates.
MMC will sincerely respond to our customers who own and use the
applicable cars.
Mitsubishi said it halted production of the cars
as well as sales. Nissan says it has stopped sales of its versions of
the cars. The statement added, “Taking into account the seriousness of
these issues, we will also conduct an investigation into products
manufactured for overseas markets. In order to conduct an investigation
into these issues objectively and thoroughly, we plan to set up a
committee consisting of only external experts. We will publish the
results of our investigation as soon as it is complete.”
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