Nissan admits to falsifying emissions and economy figures

Nissan has admitted to falsifying vehicle exhaust data during emissions testing at some of its Japanese factories.

The Japanese carmaker has issued a statement confirming “performance of exhaust emissions and fuel economy tests that deviated from the prescribed testing environment.” This led to the “creation of inspection reports based on altered measurement on altered measurement values,” according to Nissan.

• Carmakers to face emissions cheating fines of £50,000 per car

The company said the malpractices took place at its domestic plants in Japan, apart from Nissan Motor Kyushu. The company has now launched a “full and comprehensive investigation,” and has employed a leading Japanese law firm Nishimura and Asahi to investigate the plants involved in the scandal.

Nissan has yet to confirm which vehicles have been affected by the falsification practices, and the extent to which their fuel economy and emissions figures were altered.

Last year, Nissan recalled 1.2 million vehicles in Japan after regulators found safety checks failed to meet requirements. Subsequent investigations by Japanese authorities led to this discovery of emissions falsification at the plants.

Will this Nissan emissions scandal follow the same path as VW Group’s dieselgate? Have your say in the comments…