YOKOHAMA, Japan — 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.
Related documents
Overview of test data reviewed
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Contact
Koji Okuda or Nicholas Maxfield
+81-(0)45-523-5552
nissan_japan_communications@mail.nissan.co.jp