Mitsubishi Motors’ Testing Scandal Charge Cuts Profit by 19%
- Charge reflects costs to compensate owners, Japan government
- Chairman Masuko to be president; former Nissan executive joins
Mitsubishi Motors Corp. booked a 19.1 billion yen ($174 million) charge to reflect losses related to its fuel economy testing scandal, which reduced profit last fiscal year by 19 percent and prompted a shake-up in top management.
The Japanese automaker said it earned 72.6 billion yen for the fiscal year ended in March, rather than the 89.1 billion yen initially reported last month. Chairman Osamu Masuko will add the role of president, replacing Tetsuro Aikawa, who said last week he’d resign. A former executive for Nissan Motor Co., which signed an agreement Wednesday to buy a 34 percent stake in Mitsubishi Motors, will head the development unit that manipulated fuel economy data and used test methods out of compliance with Japan law for 25 years.