3:50 pm, July 10, 2018
NISSAN has admitted falsifying emissions data on cars made in Japan but insists that all vehicles — bar the GT-R — fully comply with safety regulations in its homeland.
The firm did not confirm which, or how many, cars were affected by the voluntary investigation.
It also says that all fuel economy figures claimed are accurate following a re-verification of its data as part of the investigation carried out by Japanese law firm Nishimura and Asahi.
The majority of Nissan’s cars sold in the UK are made elsewhere — with the Leaf and Qashqai built in Sunderland — so it’s unlikely that any cars making their way to Britain, except for the 370Z and GT-R, will be involved in this.
The inaccuracies were discovered as part of ongoing compliance checks at Nissan’s domestic plants after ‘non-conformities in the final vehicle inspection process’ were discovered in September 2017.
The issues were found in safety and emissions tests, which are necessary for cars in Nissan’s home country under the Japanese Emissions Standards. To be compliant on the roads, every car is given its own certificate to prove it has met these standards.
In a statement, the company said: ‘This issue came to light during the course of voluntary checks conducted by Nissan. As a company-wide exercise, Nissan will continue to carry out comprehensive checks of frameworks, organisations 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.’
However, Nissan has yet to explain why the GT-R doesn’t fully comply with Japanese safety regulations, although it’s likely to be exempt from testing as a low-volume production vehicle.
The Japanese firm isn’t the first to admit to falsifying emissions data. In 2015, Volkswagen was found to have fitted emissions-cheating devices to diesel vehicles to circumvent US regulations.
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