Mitsubishi Motors President To Step Down

The president of the Japanese car manufacturer Mitsubishi (LSE: 7035.L - news) has announced his resignation, after the company was found to have rigged fuel economy tests.

At a news conference in Tokyo Tetsuro Aikawa apologised for causing what he described as "tremendous trouble and concern" as a result of the scandal, and said he was resigning to avoid becoming an obstacle to the company's reform process.

Mr Aikawa took on the role of Mitsubishi's president and chief operating officer in June 2015. In April, Mitsubishi Motors admitted it had rigged tests for the past 25 years.

He said: "I am to resign the role of president at the stockholders’ meeting on the 24th of next month so as to take responsibility of having caused tremendous trouble and concern to our many customers and related people."

The announcement follows the news that Nissan is to take a controlling stake in Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (Other OTC: MMTOF - news) .

"We are going to welcome a Nissan executive who will lead our research and development sector. I had been involved in our research and development department for 30 years and deeply rooted in our corporate culture," said Mr Aikawa.

Mitsubishi vice president Ryugo Nakao is also stepping down next month.

Meanwhile, fellow Japanese car maker Suzuki has said it has found "discrepancies" in its fuel and emissions testing, but denies cheating.

The company said its testing method for 16 models was not in line with official regulations, but it insisted that new tests showed no need to amend the data.