Mitsubishi falsified fuel economy tests on over half a million vehicles, the Japanese car giant has admitted.
In a statement published online, Mitsubishi confirmed it had misrepresented fuel consumption rates on four models of car, two of which were Mitsubishi-branded, and two of which were built for Nissan. Over 600,000 vehicles in total were tested using methods other than those required by Japanese law.
"We express deep apologies to all of our customers and stakeholders for this issue," Mitsubishi said. "Taking into account the seriousness of these issues, we will also conduct an investigation into products manufactured for overseas markets."
The company notes, "The cars in question are only sold in the Japanese domestic market," such as the eK Space, above, and not sold in the US, UK or Australia.
The falsified fuel economy reports follows Volkswagen's industry-shaking admission that it installed software that would curtail emissions during lab testing, making cars appear more environmentally friendly than they are.
"There is no evidence to suggest that UK or European models are affected," Lance Bradley, managing director of Mitsubishi Motors in the UK said in a statement.
Update 1:16 p.m. UK: Added comment from Mitsubishi UK.