Mitsubishi President Resigns Over Fuel Economy Scandal

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

He’s been with the company since the Plymouth Sapporo/Dodge Challenger era, but Mitsubishi president Tetsuro Aikawa’s tenure comes to an abrupt end in June.

Aikawa stepped down today after less than two years at the helm, the victim of his company’s ongoing fuel economy scandal, according to an announcement from the automaker. Ryugo Nakao, the company’s executive vice-president in charge of quality, is also out the door.

Both men will leave after Mitsubishi’s annual shareholders meeting on June 24, which promises to be an interesting event.

Next week, Nissan makes official its purchase of a 34 percent controlling stake in the embattled automaker, after announcing a $2.2 billion share-buying plan on May 12. Mitsubishi’s board of directors will see a Nissan-appointed chairman and a host of new directors join the table.

After Aikawa leaves the top spot at Mitsubishi, CEO (and former president) Osamu Masuko is expected to hold down the fort until a replacement arrives.

Masuko came on board as president in 2005, and will have his hands full managing both the Nissan alliance transition and the fallout of the mileage scandal. Mitsubishi faces serious fines and suffered a massive blow to its reputation (not to mention its stock value) when it admitted to fudging gas mileage numbers in Japan since 1991.

Nissan blew the whistle on Mitsubishi after misleading mileage claims sidelined the Japanese market minicar they produced via a partnership. The alliance was forged when Masuko visited Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn to apologize.

[Source: Automotive News] [Image: ©2015 Mark Stevenson/The Truth About Cars]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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 6 comments
  • Seth1065 Seth1065 on May 18, 2016

    Say what you want about the Japanese but when a scandal hits them, they seem to take it very seriously and the head of the company do not try to hide and hang on. they leave something foreign to US CEO's

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    • Brn Brn on May 18, 2016

      When the scandal first hit, Mitsu pulled a VW. They blamed the engineers. Um, nope. If they were so honorable, it wouldn't have happened in the first place. Aikawa was probably going to retire anyway, due to the merger. Saved himself some frustration by resigning now. Hey Nissan, it's your problem!

  • Raph Raph on May 18, 2016

    Hah the U... western solution would be to lay off a factory or two, issue a weak apology and get the legal team to work and mitigate those fines so that all important bonus is preserved. Then stare in the mirror and remind yourself that only 1 man in a trillion can helm a multinational corporation and your entirely to valuable to let go plus you one the few, the proud, a job creator!

  • Corey Lewis Corey Lewis on May 18, 2016

    All these instances of saying "alliance." I get this image in my head... Mitsubishi directors and board members await the arrival of their new French-Sino boss. Wearing their suits, they head down to the front of the building to greet the incoming party. Ghosn drives up in a light yellow Renault Alliance convertible. With a wave of his hand, he clatters to a stop and grins. *Slight accent* "You see, I bring the Renault quality to Mitsubishi, day one!"

  • 05lgt 05lgt on May 18, 2016

    Ghosn gets to say "Bring me my money" after he B* slapped them. Did Nissan decide to buy controlling interest before or after blowing the whistle? Weren't they talking about acquisitions during the restructuring of arrangements with the Renault owning French government?

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