Mitsubishi brand at risk in wake of rigged fuel economy tests
Mistubishi has gone into damage limitation mode in an attempt to protect its hard won brand identity after suffering the ignominy of Japanese officials raiding its head office following an admission that the car giant had rigged fuel economy tests.
Heads bowed in submission top officials at the car maker had earlier admitted that its employees had tampered with data to increase the apparent mileage rates on over 600,000 vehicles – 468,000 of which were produced for Nissan.
In response to the crisis the Japanese government has instructed Mitsubishi Motors to hand over a report on the falsified testing by 27 April.
Chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said: "Based on [the findings from] the raid, and a report from the company, we would like to reveal the extent of the inaccuracies as soon as possible.
"We will deal with the situation in a strict manner and would like to make sure of the safety of cars."
In addition to the unquantifiable cost to its reputation Mitsubishi is facing a £313m compensation bill for consumers and replacement parts.