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Mazda Admits No Wrongdoing in Emissions Tests

Back in July, Japanese automaker Nissan admitted having found irregularities in the way in which tests of exhaust emissions and fuel economy on its cars were conducted, leading to inaccurate inspection reports.
Mazda denies cheating in emissions tests 1 photo
Photo: Catalin Garmacea
The revelation came as part of a request from the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism (MLIT), sent to other local car manufacturers as well. Among them Mazda, which on Thursday released its findings in the matter.

The company says it performed sample testing of fuel economy and emission levels on 1,472 vehicles and only found speed trace errors in 72 cases. A speed trace error represents a deviation of the vehicle’s speed more than the permitted amount from the trace pattern prescribed by the test mode.

Although admitting and accepting the errors in these cases, Mazda states that its sample testing found “no improper alteration or falsification of test data.”

“Mazda accepts that errors were made on a small number of tests and the situation was identified quickly, and steps have been put in place to avoid it happening in the future,” says the company in a statement.

“All test data has been re-examined, and the results show there was no effect on specification fuel economy and emission figures.”

To avoid any such readings in the future, Mazda said it will update the testing system to automatically treat test results as invalid in the event of a speed trace error.

Additionally, the number of employees who check inspection data, including speed trace errors, has been increased.

The Japanese emissions issue differs vastly from the one Volkswagen drew the automotive industry into. Unlike the Europeans, the Japanese have not installed so-called defeat devices to trick testing procedures, nor do they appear to have willingly tried to deceit regulators.

So far, caught up in this Japanese debacle are Nissan, Mazda, Suzuki, and Yamaha, so expect more details to surface in the coming days.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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