Why fuel economy fraud happened in the Japanese automotive industry?

Abstract

Fuel economy competition has heated up as a result of the oil crises of the 1970s, the environmental issues occurring since the 1990s, and the Japanese government’s economic policies, so that fuel economy has become a key competition index. However, for engineers who measure fuel economy, it is (i) a vague and unstable metric that fluctuates because of a number of factors and (ii) a quality that does not affect safety and so is not subject to recall. Competitive pressure regarding fuel economy led to arbitrary measurements. This eventually became normalized, and since 2016, cases of organizational corruption in the Japanese automotive industry have been uncovered one after another.