Japan’s Subaru Corp (7270. T), already smarting from a vehicle inspection scandal at home, said it was now investigating whether mileage readings may have also been falsified during final checks, driving its shares down as much as 8 percent.
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Subaru Corp ( 7270. T), already smarting from a vehicle inspection scandal at home, said it was now investigating whether mileage readings may have also been falsified during final checks, driving its shares down as much as 8 percent.
Mileage readings, an indicator of fuel efficiency, do not fall under safety requirements. However, any proof of what would be a second instance of misconduct in as many months would taint the image of not only Subaru but also Japan’s manufacturing industry that has been rocked by a slew of scandals recently.
Just last year, Mitsubishi Motors Corp ( 7211. T) saw around 40 percent of its market value, or $3.2 billion, wiped out in three days after it admitted it had overstated the fuel economy of its minivehicles.
Subaru on Wednesday said it was checking to see if any possible fabrication could have impacted its official mileage readings and if any exported models may have been affected.
“At the moment we are trying to confirm whether data was indeed fabricated, and if so, how this happened and which models are affected,” Subaru spokeswoman Miyuki Yasuda said.
She added that any evidence of falsified mileage figures, which show the number of kilometers a vehicle can travel on a liter of petrol, was unlikely to result in a recall as it would not constitute a violation of safety requirements.
