Suzuki admits rigging fuel economy tests in Japan, shares down 9.4 percent



It looks like Mitsubishi is not alone when it comes to falsifying fuel economy test. Now, Suzuki is the latest car manufacturer to come forth admitting to this dishonesty, a move which saw their shares tumble by 9.4 percent in the Tokyo Stoke Exchange.

Suzuki’s CEO, Osamu Suzuki said, “The company apologises for the fact that we did not follow rules set by the country.” He also said that his workers did not intentionally provide improper data. That said, a total of 2.1 million cars involving 16 different models are affected. However, this does not impact Suzuki cars sold overseas.

Strangely, Suzuki pointed fingers towards its test facility in Sagara, Japan, as the root cause for the test discrepancies. The coastal location of the said facility means that it’s exposed to different weather conditions such as the influence of wind, thus making tests difficult to conduct.

“As the result of verification of all certified fuel efficiency value with these actual data through the coasting test, all certified values remained within the range of measurement deviation. Therefore, we consider it not necessary to amend the driving resistance value applied, nor the fuel efficiency value measured using the driving resistance value,” said Suzuki.

Last month, Mitsubishi admitted to rigging fuel economy tests in four of their models by over-inflating their tyre pressure. Just recently, the struggling Mitsubishi was rescued by Nissan and the company’s president, Tetsuro Aikawa, has announced his resignation.Proton-Suzuki-MOU-Signing (2)

Suzuki is Japan’s fourth largest auto manufacturer and specialise in making small and compact vehicles. Earlier this year, Suzuki inked a strategic partnership deal with Proton to develop cars in Malaysia.

[Source: Reuters]