Suzuki admits 2.1 million cars used the wrong tests for fuel economy for a period of 6 years.

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Suzuki Says it Didn't Cheat on Fuel Economy
Suzuki admits 2.1 million cars used the wrong tests for fuel economy for a period of 6 years.

— Suzuki says it didn't intentionally cheat on fuel economy tests while the automaker admits it spent the past six years selling 2.1 million cars with incorrect fuel economy estimates.

Saying it discovered “discrepancies” in its tests, Suzuki denies it deliberately manipulated the cars to make them easier to sell. However, Suzuki said nothing for six years until Japan's transport ministry ordered all automakers to provide details about emissions and fuel economy.

Japanese authorities have been cracking down since Mitsubishi admitted it manipulated fuel economy numbers for the past 25 years.

Suzuki says it did nothing to intentionally alter fuel efficiency data and the only discrepancies were found in the emissions and fuel efficiency testing process. Japanese officials say it is "outrageous" the automaker didn't follow proper testing procedures for 16 models encompassing more than two million vehicles.

Suzuki says all affected vehicles are located in Japan and were tested based on readings from numerous parts, not as a single reading taken from each car. The automaker says it conducted tests on a hill that experienced heavy winds, something that allegedly made accurate readings nearly impossible.

The affected vehicles under investigation include the following 16 Japanese models:

Minicars

  • Suzuki Alto
  • Suzuki Alto Lapin
  • Suzuki Wagon R
  • Suzuki Hustler
  • Suzuki Spacia
  • Suzuki Every
  • Suzuki Carry
  • Suzuki Jimny

Normal and Large Vehicles

  • Suzuki Solio
  • Suzuki Ignis
  • Suzuki Baleno
  • Suzuki SX4 S-CROSS
  • Suzuki Swift
  • Suzuki Escudo 2.4
  • Suzuki Escudo
  • Suzuki Jimny Sierra

Suzuki says the "discrepancies" not only resulted from numerous parts of the car tested instead of the car as a whole, but inaccurate results were received because the tests were conducted indoors because of the bad conditions outside.

"The company apologizes for the fact that we did not follow rules set by the country." Suzuki CEO Osamu Suzuki

Suzuki says it has no plans on altering fuel economy estimates for the cars, but that position could change based on what Japanese authorities decide. The automaker also has no plans to recall the two million vehicles because they aren't considered a safety hazard.

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