Suzuki Motor Corp shares dived yesterday on reports that it might have used improper fuel-efficiency testing, the latest bad news for a global auto industry shaken by scandals over deadly defects and emissions cheating.
Investors pressed the sell button on the small automaker’s Tokyo-listed stock which plunged as much as 15 percent in afternoon trading. It closed 9.4 percent lower at ¥2,613 (US$23.87).
Suzuki yesterday said it has found “discrepancies” in its fuel-economy and emissions testing, but denied that it cheated to make its cars seem more efficient than they were.
Photo: Reuters
“Any wrongdoing, such as manipulation of fuel efficiency data, were not found,” it said in a statement.
“Some discrepancies were found in the automobile emission and fuel-efficiency testing process” between the testing method required by the government and what Suzuki did, the statement added.
The Suzuki news comes after rival Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp was hit by fuel-efficiency cheating revelations and as Germany’s Volkswagen AG struggles to drive past a worldwide emissions cheating scandal.
Suzuki chairman Osamu Suzuki, a descendant of the company’s founding family, was scheduled to visit the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism yesterday to discuss the issue, a firm spokesman said, without elaborating.
He declined to comment on reports by public broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News agency saying Suzuki was using a fuel-economy testing method that was different from one required by government regulators.
They did not give further details, but the Mainichi Shimbum newspaper quoted unnamed company sources as saying that Suzuki’s testing did not result in false fuel-economy data.
Suzuki, which also has a major presence in the Indian market through its Maruti Suzuki unit, sold almost 3 million vehicles globally last year.
The transport ministry has ordered all Japan’s automakers to probe their own compliance with government testing methods after Mitsubishi admitted last month it manipulated data to make its cars seem more fuel efficient than they were.
Major players Nissan Motor Co, Toyota Motor Corp, Honda Motor Co and Mazda Motor Corp have already denied any wrongdoing.
However, in a separate case, Seoul said this week it would fine Nissan for allegedly manipulating emissions data on a popular diesel sports utility vehicle sold in South Korea.
The news came as an embarrassment for Japan’s No. 2 automaker, but the company has so far not come under fire for emissions cheating in Japan or anywhere else.
If Suzuki did not cheat on the fuel-efficiency data it supplied — like Mitsubishi did — it might not take as big a hit to its reputation and sales, Advanced Research Japan managing director Koji Endo said.
“But even so, using a different testing method than the one ordered by the government is a problem,” he added. “And because Suzuki’s sales in Japan are a lot larger [than Mitsubishi] it could have a big impact on the domestic market, but it really depends on how many models are affected.”
In Tokyo trading, Suzuki shares slumped 15 percent at one point yesterday before managing to pare the losses slightly to end 9.4 percent lower.
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