Mitsubishi Motors scandal widens

The emissions scandal surrounding Mitsubishi Motors has widened as the firm said further models may be involved.

At a press conference, the company's president Tetsuro Aikawa said there may have been more car models that incorrectly measured fuel efficiency data than initially thought.

Meanwhile, US safety authorities have asked the company for more information.

Shares in the company have lost 40% of their value since the scandal emerged.

On Friday the stock closed at a record low of 504 yen.

So far, at least 600,000 Japanese vehicles have been affected in four models: Mitsubishi's ek Wagon and eK Space, as well as Nissan's Dayz and Dayz Roox, which Mitsubishi produces for Nissan.

"We believe there were four car models where we saw improper data breaches and we believe there were other car models that were not properly measured," said President Tesuro Aikawa.

"We are trying to sort this out."

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The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told Reuters that it had asked the company for more information on vehicles sold in the US, but did not give details of the models.

Japanese authorities raided one of Mitsubishi's offices on Thursday and has demanded a full report by 27 April. On Friday the transport minister, Keiichi Ishii, raised the possibility of buying back the cars in question, as Volkswagen has agreed to do in the US.

"We would like encourage Mitsubishi Motors to conduct some serious soul searching for having tarnished the 'Japan Brand' that we have built up over these years," he added.