Mitsubishi Motors president Testuro Aikawa is stepping down to take responsibility for the fuel efficiency cheating scandal unfolding at the Japanese carmaker.
Aikawa told reporters at the transport ministry on Wednesday he will see through the investigation of the scandal, which surfaced last month.
He appeared with Mitsubishi Chairman Osamu Masuko, who helped engineered a deal with Japanese rival Nissan, to take a 34 per cent stake in Mitsubishi for 237 billion yen ($A3 billion). Mitsubishi stock had plunged more than 30 per cent after the scandal.
Nissan found the faked mileage tests because of a discrepancy with its own tests on Mitsubishi-manufactured minicar models with tiny engines that had been sold under the Nissan brand.
Mitsubishi says rigging goes back 25 years, and may involve all models, including discontinued ones.
