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Mitsubishi Motors North America Complies to EPA Federal Test Procedure

Mitsubishi finds itself between a rock and a hard place. After its admission of falsifying fuel efficiency data in Japan for 625,000 kei cars, Mitsubishi Motors North America is distancing itself from the rigging scandal. The EPA, DOT, and CARB rubber-stamped the cleanliness of U.S-specification Mitsubishi vehicles.
Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart 1 photo
Photo: Tudor Raiciu
The manufacturer’s North American division conducted an internal audit into the matter, re-testing some of its U.S-spec cars. The result of this scrutiny? No wrongdoings whatsoever for the verified vehicles, the oldest of the lot dating back to the 2013 model year. This finding is sure to raise an eyebrow or two considering that Mitsubishi has been rigging vehicles sold in Japan since 1991.

Here is an excerpt from the Japanese manufacturer’s release regarding the matter: “An entirely different system is used for the United States market to determine what the EPA calls Road Load Coefficient, strictly adhering to EPA procedures. The data generated is then independently verified for its accuracy before being submitted to the EPA for their fuel economy testing.”

In Japan, investigations are still going strong. Of the 625,000 kei cars with rigged fuel economy data, 468,000 were built for Nissan. Affected models come in the form of the Mitsubishi eK Wagon, eK Space, Nissan Dayz, and Dayz Roox. When Mitsubishi was caught red-handed, the manufacturer admitted to rigging the fuel testing procedures in order to present better fuel consumption rates than the actual rates.

“We express deep apologies to all of our customers and stakeholders for this issue,” is what the automaker had to declare to the media. The Special Investigation Committee that will clarify the extent of the scandal will present its findings by the end of June. According to certain reports published by Japanese news outlets, models such as the Pajero (Montero), Outlander, RVR (Outlander Sport or ASX), and i-MiEV are also suspected to have tricked the light-duty vehicle efficiency standards in Japan, as in the JC08 testing cycle.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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