Japanese auto giant Mitsubishi Motors Corp defended that it had not committed fraud and used illegal defeat devices in its diesel engines.
This after German prosecutors suspected the automaker of hiding illegal levels of pollution by equipping “shutdown or defeat devices” in its vehicles for them to pass the emission tests.
Japan Today reported that the investigation focused on “Mitsubishi diesel vehicles with 1.6- and 2.2-liter engines that were given Germany’s highest Euro 5 and Euro 6 ratings on emissions standards.”
In response to the allegations, Mitsubishi released a statement that read: “We have found no reason to believe that there was any fraud as suspected by the Frankfurt Public Prosecutor authorities.”
The carmaker clarified that the probed diesel engines and its control systems are made by France’s PSA Group and guarantee strict compliance with homologation in every market where it operates.
Mitsubishi added that it maintains full disclosure about its engines to the German authorities so that improvements can be immediately made whenever there are recommended indications.
The Japanese manufacturer is the latest company to be investigated as part of the intensified measures against fraud following the “dieselgate scandal” in 2015 when Volkswagen admitted that it has cheated emissions tests by installing software in 11 million vehicles.
Authorities found out that the defeat devices allowed the affected cars to harmfully emit up to 40 times the allowed nitrogen oxides.
