Nissan Could Take Over Mitsubishi Motors

Nissan is considering buying a controlling stake in Mitsubishi Motors for roughly 200 billion yen ($1.84 billion).

According to a report from Japanese broadcaster NHK cited by Bloomberg, Nissan is looking to purchase up to a 40 percent stake in Mitsubishi Motors.

Mitsubishi is currently embroiled in a scandal for purposefully falsifying fuel economy data for at least 25 years on many of its models. The scope of the cheating is still being uncovered, though already analysts are predicting it could cost Mitsubishi up to $1 billion.

SEE ALSO: Mitsubishi Ordered to Retest Fuel Economy in US, CEO Likely to Resign

Orders for Mitsubishi models have already plummeted, while the company’s shares have fallen in value by 43 percent since the news broke. Mitsubishi Motors has not reached out to parent company Mitsubishi group for help, saying that it can handle the issue with its own resources.

Mitsubishi and Nissan have a joint venture that results in Nissan selling a version of Mitsubishi’s minicar. These small cars were the first four models identified to have incorrect fuel economy ratings, and it was Nissan that discovered the discrepancy during testing. Mitsubishi had already said that it planned to reimburse Nissan over the issue.

This story is developing. Check back for updates. 

[Source: Bloomberg]

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