Mitsubishi Shareholder Litigation

Registration Deadline: May 20, 2016
Filing Date: September 30, 2016
Class Period: January 1, 2011 – April 26, 2016 (subject to change)
Venue: Tokyo Civil Court, Japan

DRRT, Grant & Eisenhofer, Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, and Koga & Partners (collectively “Global Counsel”) have substantial experience in Japanese litigation and are committed to funding and pursuing shareholder compensation litigation on behalf of eligible investors on a risk-free contingency fee basis. Global counsel has recently had success in Japan in litigation against Olympus and are actively pursuing claims against various issuers in jurisdictions around the globe.

Allegations: On Wednesday, April 20, 2016, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (“Mitsubishi” or the “Company”) admitted to the public that the Company has been cheating Japanese emissions tests since at least June 2013.  On news of this scandal, Mitsubishi’s common stock (ISIN: JP3899800001) dropped 15%, closing trading that day at ¥733 ($6.74) per share, representing a market cap loss of $1.2 billion. Further news emerged on April 21 and 22, 2016, pushing Mitsubishi’s stock price down to ¥504 ($4.53) per share by close of business on Friday, April 22, 2016, representing a total market cap loss of approximately ¥345,038,364,000.00 ($3,161,056,821.43).  Thereafter, on April 26, 2016, Mitsubishi made the shocking disclosure that its emission testing fraud extended back 25 years, to 1991.  By the end of the day on April 27th, Mitsubishi was trading at only ¥422 (down from ¥864 on April 19th, the day before the scandal erupted). Since the scandal began on April 20th, the Company’s investors have lost more than 50 percent of the value of their investment with its market capitalization declining by ¥435 billion ($4.1 billion).

The scandal was first revealed to investors in a press release of April 20, 2016, where Mitsubishi disclosed that since 2013, about 625,00 vehicles were implicated, divided into approximately 157,000 units of the eK Wagon and eK Space, and approximately 468,000 units of the Dayz and Dayz Roox (collectively, the “Affected Models”), sold through Nissan Motors Corporation (“Nissan”).  All sales and production of the Affected Models have been suspended by Mitsubishi as well as Nissan, representing nearly 20% of the numbers of vehicles sold by Mitsubishi since 2013.  According to the Company, the scheme involved using tire and air resistance that yielded better fuel economy during tests than the cars would actually get under normal conditions.

Most recently, on April 26th, Mitsubishi vice president Ryugo Nakao admitted that the company’s “improper testing” - which gave more favorable results for its vehicles - has been going on for around 25 years.  At a press conference in Tokyo he said: “for the domestic market, we have been using that method since 1991…But we don’t know the number of models.”

As part of its cheating scheme, Mitsubishi has acknowledged that it has been misstating emissions numbers on at least four models of “minicars” it manufactures and sells in Japan with 660 ccm engines, including the eK Wagon, eK Space, Dayz and Dayz Roox.  According to Mitsubishi, the Affected Models operate with 5-10% less fuel efficiency than advertised due to the cheating scheme.  While all four Affected Models are manufactured by Mitsubishi, the Dayz and Dayz Roox are sold by Nissan. Further, based upon the most recent disclosure, it is nearly certain that multiple additional models are subject to the improper testing – but Mitsubishi has yet to identify publicly the expanded list of affected models.

Global Counsel has a substantial experience in Japanese litigation and is collecting all relevant information in preparation of potential litigation on behalf of affected shareholders with significant losses.  Global Counsel is committed to funding and pursuing shareholder compensation litigation on behalf of eligible investors on a risk-free contingency fee basis.

Contacts for Global Counsel