German prosecutors opened a criminal fraud probe into Mitsubishi Motors on 31 January 2020, accusing the Japanese carmaker of fitting 1.6- and 2.2-liter diesel engines with illegal “shutdown or defeat devices” that masked excess pollution during laboratory tests. The Frankfurt Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed the investigation covers Euro 5 and Euro 6 vehicles sold in Germany since 2012. Mitsubishi immediately rejected the allegation, insisting its engines, supplied by France’s PSA Group, meet every national homologation rule and contain no cheat software.
Investigators seized documents and electronic data from Mitsubishi’s German importer and from PSA offices in Rüsselsheim, according to people familiar with the dawn raids. The inquiry focuses on software routines that, regulators suspect, throttle back exhaust-gas recirculation and activate full emissions controls only when the on-board computer recognises a test cycle.
On the road, nitrogen-oxide output is believed to jump far beyond the 80 mg/km Euro 6 limit. A spokesperson for the Frankfurt Public Prosecutor’s Office, Julia-Schneider Heine, told reporters on Monday: “We have reasonable cause to assume that the engines were programmed to recognise steering angle, speed patterns and acceleration typical of a dyno run. Outside that pattern the after-treatment is reduced or switched off entirely.” No arrests have been made, but the office said charges could include fraud and criminal violation of Germany’s Federal Emission Control Act.
Mitsubishi shifts blame to PSA, denies any intent to mislead regulators
Mitsubishi’s European legal team issued a two-page rebuttal within hours of the raid. The statement said the company “has found no reason to believe that there was any fraud as suspected by the Frankfurt Public Prosecutor authorities.” It stressed that the diesel powertrain, engine-control unit and homologation paperwork were all “designed, validated and submitted” by PSA Group, maker of Peugeot, Citroën, Opel and DS brands. PSA has supplied the same 1.6 and 2.2 diesels to Opel, Peugeot and Citroën models that Mitsubishi rebadges for sale in Europe.
Mitsubishi argues it merely installed the PSA package into its ASX, Outlander and L200 lines and therefore lacked either motive or technical means to manipulate test results. “We maintain full disclosure to German authorities and will implement any recommended improvements immediately,” the Mitsubishi statement added.
German motor authority expands probe beyond Mitsubishi
The Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) has been running parallel compliance tests on PSA-based diesels since late 2019. KBA president Richard Damm told the transport committee of the Bundestag on 29 January that “anomalies in thermal-window behaviour” had been detected in several PSA families, including those delivered to Mitsubishi. He said the agency is now reviewing whether the software constitutes an impermissible defeat device under EU Regulation 715/2007.
If the KBA rules against PSA, the French supplier could face mandatory recalls across more than 600,000 vehicles in Germany alone. PSA said it “respects European regulations and is cooperating with authorities,” but declined to comment on Mitsubishi-specific allegations.
Dieselgate hangover still driving European enforcement
The Mitsubishi probe is the latest ripple from the 2015 Volkswagen confession that it rigged 11 million cars worldwide with cheat software. Since then European prosecutors have charged or fined Fiat Chrysler, Renault, Daimler and most recently Porsche. German consumer group VZBV estimates that court-backed diesel buy-backs and retrofits have cost the industry more than €32 billion.
Environmental lobby group DUH, which triggered many of the German cases, welcomed the Mitsubishi investigation. DUH head Jürgen Resch said: “The only reason these engines passed type approval is because they were designed to recognise a lab test and then pollute freely on the autobahn.
Mitsubishi cannot hide behind its supplier, carmakers are legally responsible for every component they sell.” DUH has filed separate civil suits seeking driving bans on Mitsubishi diesels in Stuttgart and Düsseldorf unless a compliant fix is delivered within six months. Courts in both cities have signalled they will impose restrictions if nitrogen-oxide levels remain above EU limits this summer.
Share price dips as investors weigh recall risk
Mitsubishi stock slid 4.7 percent in Tokyo trading after news of the German raids broke, trimming the company’s market value by roughly $550 million. Analysts at Nomura Securities warned that a forced recall of Euro 5 and Euro 6 diesels could cost up to €1.2 billion if hardware changes are required. PSA would probably bear part of the bill under supply contracts, but Mitsubishi could still face class-action claims from European owners.
The timing is awkward for Mitsubishi, which is still recovering from its 2016 admission that it overstated fuel-economy data on mini-cars sold in Japan. That scandal led to a $2.1 billion rescue by Nissan, which now owns 34 percent of Mitsubishi.
Nissan itself is fighting civil diesel cases in Spain and France, raising the prospect of combined legal exposure across the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance. Mitsubishi’s next hurdle comes on 14 February, when it must submit internal emails and source-code logs to the Frankfurt court. Prosecutors say they will decide by Easter whether to indict individuals or settle for corporate fines.
Until then, every Euro 5 or Euro 6 Mitsubishi diesel sold in Germany remains under regulatory cloud, and owners face the possibility of plummeting resale values if recalls or city-centre bans follow.
