Nissan Admits Cheating On Car Exhaust and Mileage

Regarding misconduct in exhaust gas measurement within final vehicle inspections in Japan

YOKOHAMA, Japan 2018/07/09; Since the discovery in September 2017 of nonconformities in the final vehicle inspection process (kanken) at its plants in Japan, and in line with operational improvement orders received from the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. has been proactively carrying out comprehensive compliance checks of various parts of its operations. As part of a check of exhaust emissions and fuel economy measurement tests within the kanken, Nissan discovered the following misconduct carried out for vehicles produced at its domestic vehicle production plants and those of affiliates, excepting Nissan Motor Kyushu.

1) Performance of exhaust emissions and fuel economy tests that deviated from the prescribed testing environment.

2) Creation of inspection reports based on altered measurement values.

Today, Nissan reported the current facts and investigation results to the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Nissan understands and regrets the concern and inconvenience caused to stakeholders as a result of its kanken issues last year. Proactive initiatives to prevent recurrence of such issues have led to the discovery of this misconduct, for which the company is regretful.

A full and comprehensive investigation of the facts outlined above, including the causes and background of the misconduct, is underway. Nissan has retained the leading Japanese law firm Nishimura and Asahi to carry out an investigation centered on the causes and will implement appropriate countermeasures based on the results.

Following re-verification of reliable log data, Nissan has confirmed that all vehicles produced, excepting GT-R, conform to Japanese safety standards and also that the Nissan vehicle-type approval average measurement values guarantee the catalog specifications for exhaust emissions. Similarly, Nissan has also re-verified log data to confirm that all models subject to sampling tests guarantee the Nissan catalog specifications for fuel economy, meaning there are no errors within the fuel economy figures disclosed by Nissan.

This issue came to light during the course of voluntary checks conducted by Nissan. As a companywide exercise, Nissan will continue to carry out comprehensive checks of frameworks, organizations and processes related to regulatory compliance. Strict adherence to compliance is a top priority for Nissan’s management, and if issues are discovered, appropriate measures will be taken. Nissan is committed to promoting and enforcing compliance and awareness thereof in all operational areas.

Tokyo July 8, 2018; The BBC reported that Nissan has admitted that it has uncovered falsified data from car exhaust emissions tests at most of its Japanese factories.

The firm did not disclose how many cars were involved, but said emissions and fuel economy tests had "deviated from the prescribed testing environment".

The carmaker added that inspection reports had been "based on altered measurement values".

Nissan pledged there would be a "full and comprehensive investigation".

It added that "appropriate measures" would be taken to stop any future recurrence.

The company said it had rechecked "reliable" data and confirmed that all vehicles except the GT-R sports car conformed to Japanese safety standards.

It did not explain why the GT-R had been excluded.