Tokyo, May 18

Suzuki today admitted to finding ‘discrepancies’ in its fuel-economy and emissions testing, but the firm denied deliberately manipulating data to make cars seem more efficient.

The remarks from the Japanese small-car maker came in wake of rival Mitsubishi Motors’ shock admission last month that it had cheated on fuel-efficiency tests for decades.

Today, Mitsubishi said its President Tetsuro Aikawa would resign over the scandal, which has left the company’s reputation in tatters.

Japan’s transport ministry has ordered all domestic automakers to probe their own compliance with government testing methods following Mitsubishi’s revelations that it manipulated fuel-economy data.

Major players Nissan, Toyota, Honda and Mazda have already denied any wrongdoing.

Suzuki joined that list today, although it admitted that it was not using testing methods required by the government.

“Any wrongdoing, such as manipulation of fuel efficiency data, were not found,” it said.

‘Some discrepancies were found in the automobile emission and fuel-efficiency testing process’ between procedures required by the government and what Suzuki did, the company statement added. In a curious revelation, Suzuki admitted that windy conditions at its seaside proving ground forced it to perform some tests inside a lab instead of outdoors as the government requires, which may have skewed results.

Sixteen models and about two million cars were affected, but the problem did not extend to cars sold outside Japan, according to Suzuki, which has a major presence in India.

Suzuki said it has been using the improper testing since 2010.

The firm’s shares dived as investors took it as the latest bad news for a global auto industry shaken by scandals over deadly defects and emissions cheating. Suzuki stock plunged as much as 15 per cent in afternoon trading. It closed 9.4 per cent lower at 2,613 yen ($24).