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Japan gov't officials raid Mitsubishi Motors plant over falsified fuel economy data

Xinhua, April 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

Japanese government officials on Thursday raided a plant belonging to Mitsubishi Motors Corp. in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, after the automaker admitted it had falsified fuel efficiency data for more than 600,000 cars sold in Japan.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism carried out the latest search, following an initial raid on Wednesday, with Mitsubishi Motors Corp. likely to be punished by the ministry for allowing its employees to manipulate data related to fuel economy on more than 600,000 minivehicles.

Of a total of 625,000 cars sold under false fuel efficiency pretenses, 468,000 were supplied to Nissan Motor Co. with the transport ministry telling Mitsubishi Motors it must produce the falsified documents before April 27.

The models affected include the ek Wagon and eK Space city cars, as well as Nissan's Dayz and Dayz Roox. Ministry officials said they were seeking Thursday to determine exactly how the employees falsified the data, with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga saying the government"will respond strictly"to the case.

Japan's top government spokesperson went on to say in a briefing on the matter that Mitsubishi Motors had undermined the public's trust and raised doubts about the automaker's safety standards.

As well as being the automaker's second-largest plant in Japan, the location raided Thursday also doubles-up as a major research facility for the carmaker.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp., headquartered in Tokyo, has said that it will try to atone for its fraudulent practice by paying additional fuel costs incurred by customers who bought the affected models, with industry insiders saying the case could cost the embattled firm some 50 billion yen (456 million U.S. dollars) in damages to customers and compensation payments to Nissan.

The government is mulling slapping its own administrative sanctions on Mitsubishi Motors, sources close to the matter said Thursday, following the company releasing false data claiming some of its minivehicles were as much as 10 percent more fuel efficient than was the case.

Other automakers who have had dealings with Mitsubishi Motors, in addition to Nissan, are also being asked by the transport ministry to check the actual fuel economy of their vehicles as compared to documented claims made by Mitsubishi Motors. Endit