Suzuki And Mazda Admit To Improper Emissions Tests In Japan

Suzuki and Mazda have admitted that they conducted improper fuel economy and emissions tests on their vehicles in Japan, the Nikkei Asian Review reports.

The two automakers discovered their improper tests after a request from the ministry that all domestic automakers investigate compliance procedures. This came after both Nissan and Subaru found that they’d falsified testing data. Suzuki found that it had conducted improper tests on a sample of 6,401 units out of a possible 12,819 since 2012.

In a similar sample, Mazda uncovered inappropriate testing on 72 vehicles out of 1,875 units since 2014. At a news conference on Thursday, Suzuki president Toshihiro Suzuki apologized for the automakers actions.

“It is a significant fact that such a large number of our products were improperly processed, and we take it seriously.

“We failed to educate our staff in an in-depth and extensive manner,” he said.

Suzuki isn’t currently considering a product recall.

“It is extremely regrettable that this situation makes users anxious over the quality of vehicles and the quality control operations of carmakers,” said Transport Minister Keiichi Ishii added.

Following the emergence of the news, stock prices in Mazda and Suzuki fell by up to 5 per cent.

Earlier this year, Japanese car manufacturers were ordered by the government to investigate their emissions and fuel compliance standards. This led to Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Subaru all discovering that they had falsified fuel economy and emissions data. Nissan revealed that it had used unqualified inspectors for final vehicle checks and may have been inadvertently falsifying data for more than 30 years.