Suzuki admits 'discrepancies' in fuel economy tests, but denies cheating

Japan's fourth-largest automaker Suzuki has admitted finding "discrepancies" in its vehicles' fuel economy and emissions tests. Shares in the company fell following the news, but Suzuki said there has been no outright manipulation of data, and that the difference in results was within an acceptable range. Additionally, the company said no products sold under the Suzuki name outside of Japan had been affected.

The company retested 16 of its car models for fuel efficiency following a request by Japan's transport ministry. The Japanese government asked all the country's automakers to reexamine their vehicles following the admission from Mitsubishi last month that it cheated fuel economy tests for decades. Mitsubishi said that aggressive internal targets had meant its testers failed to update their methodology, leading to the company overstating the fuel ratings of four car models by up to 10 percent. Some 625,000 vehicles were affected.

Suzuki's stock initially fell by as much 15 percent following the news, but has since recovered, falling only by 9 percent. This is still the biggest single drop in the company's share price in seven years, reports Bloomberg, but the admission has affected the company far less than similar news affected Mitsubishi. The latter firm lost almost half its market value last month, with larger rival Nissan buying a 34 percent stake in Mitsubishi (worth $2.2 billion) to help it survive the scandal.

• SourceBloomberg Suzuki