Mitsubishi Motors president to resign over mileage scandal

The fallout of Japanese automaker Mitsubishi's mileage cheating scandal widened Wednesday as the company's president announced his resignation.

Mitsubishi President Tetsuro Aikawa said Wednesday in Japan that he would relinquish his job. He has not admitted any wrongdoing, but the automaker's admission that it falsified fuel economy data has tainted the company's leaders, who pushed aggressively for fuel-efficient vehicles.

In Japanese business culture, leaders sometimes resign as a show of remorse over their companies' missteps.

Aikawa's successor was not immediately named. His resignation comes shortly after Japanese automaker Nissan acquired 34% of Mitsubishi with plans to take an influential role in the company's direction. It was not immediately clear whether the Nissan deal was connected to Aikawa's departure.

Aikawa appeared at a press conference Wednesday alongside Mitsubishi Chairman Osamu Masuko, according to the Associated Press.

The automaker has acknowledged that false fuel economy figures may go back a quarter century and affect all the models in its Japanese lineup.

The lies over fuel performance data come amid a series of industry scandals over lies about the environmental impact of vehicles. Volkswagen fooled regulators for years with software to dodge diesel emissions standards, and other automakers have come under scrutiny for misleading authorities about gas mileage.

Also Wednesday, Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor  apologized for what it called "discrepancies" between its road tests for new vehicles and regulatory performance. The company identified 16 affected models but said it had not uncovered any "manipulation" of data.

Suzuki pulled out of the U.S. market several years ago.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.