TOKYO—Mitsubishi Motors Corp., which recently acknowledged it inflated mileage on its models, is forecasting a 145 billion yen ($1.4 billion) loss for the fiscal year through March 2017.
The Japanese automaker said Wednesday vehicle sales will drop around the world, especially in Japan, where it expects a 41 percent plunge.
The projected loss is a reversal from the 72.6 billion yen profit for the fiscal year ended in March.
Japan’s government found Mitsubishi had overstated mileage on its vehicles by up to 16 percent. Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Motors had a systematic way of cheating on mileage for eK minicar models, including those it supplied to Nissan Motor Co.
Mitsubishi says it didn’t lie about mileage on models sold overseas.
Nissan has said it is taking a 34 percent stake in Mitsubishi to help its turnaround, although Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn reiterated to shareholders Wednesday that the deal was not final until “due diligence,” and Nissan was checking into Mitsubishi.
