Mitsubishi overstated mileage of cars by up to 16%

Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Motors acknowledged recently it had systematically inflated mileage for eK minicar models.

A Mitsubishi Motors dealership is shown in Poway, California July 27, 2015. The president of Mitsubishi Motors Corp said Japan, SouthEast Asia and Russia will become the automaker's principal production hubs after it calls time on making cars in the United States later this year because of dwindling output there. REUTERS/Mike Blake

The Japanese government on Tuesday said that Mitsubishi Motors Corp. overstated the mileage of its vehicles by up to 16 per cent. The transport ministry said it did its own mileage tests to look into the cheating by the Japanese automaker on its minicar models, tiny cars eligible for tax breaks in Japan.

Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Motors acknowledged recently it had systematically inflated mileage for eK minicar models, as well as some other models. But it has said it did not lie on mileage on models sold abroad.

Last month, Nissan Motor Co. took a 34 per cent stake in Mitsubishi, promising to help a turnaround. Under a special agreement, Mitsubishi had supplied the models to Nissan, which does not make its own minicars. Nissan’s own tests had uncovered the mileage cheating.