Mitsubishi emission scam: Carmaker expected to submit data Tuesday, says Japan minister

Japan's transport minister said he expects Mitsubishi Motors Corp to submit information related to its falsification of fuel economy data on Tuesday, within the deadline set by the ministry.

Transport Minister Keiichi Ishii also said the ministry has set up a task force to examine fuel economy data submitted by automakers.

Mitsubishi Motors said last week it overstated the fuel economy of four domestic models, including two produced for Nissan Motor Co. The misleading data affects 625,000 vehicles sold in Japan and Mitsubishi Motors has halted production and sales of the affected models.

"This is a serious issue which we need to investigate. We need to establish who is responsible for such falsification, to ensure that this doesn't happen again," Ishii told reporters.

After the carmaker admitted to falsifying emission data, the company's share price took a hard hit, with the company losing as much as 40% market value in three days last week. 

Mitsubishi has disclosed it cheated on four models, including two it produces for Nissan Motor Co, both of which are specifically marketed in Japan.

The Sankei said that Mitsubishi had also manipulated fuel economy data on the i-MiEV electric car, which is also sold overseas. The Sankei said the RVR, Outlander, Pajero and Minicab MiEV models were also suspected of using illegal test methods.

Japan's Transport Ministry ordered Mitsubishi Motors to submit a full report on the test manipulation within a week, and for other Japanese automakers to also submit fuel economy test data by May 18.