Mitsubishi president Tetsuro Aikawa to step down – reports
Another car manufacturer scalp is likely to be taken shortly, after reports suggested Mitsubishi president Tetsuro Aikawa will step down following the company's involvement in a fuel cheating scandal.
Reuters reported this morning that Aikawa will depart in June or July – either during a shareholders' meeting, or when a committee publishes its investigation into the scandal.
Last week it was revealed Nissan was buying up a third of Mitsubishi, after shares fell more than 40 per cent.
In April the company admitted its employees had falsified data on fuel economy tests. The figures affected "at least" 600,000 vehicles, of which 157,000 were own-brand vehicles and 468,000 were Nissans.
At the time Aikawa said the reports had emerged after Nissan alerted the company to to inconsistencies in its test results.
"The wrongdoing was intentional. It is clear the falsification was done to make the mileage look better. But why they would resort to fraud to do this is still unclear," said Aikawa.
This morning a Mitsubishi spokesman said rumouurs of Aikawa's departure had "not come from Mitsubishi".