Nissan Motor reportedly said on Wednesday it conducted uncertified vehicle checks as recently as last week even after revealing the widespread misconduct at its domestic factories.
The automaker already has recalled all 1.2m new cars it sold in Japan over the past three years after discovering final vehicle checks for the domestic market were not performed by certified technicians.
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An internal investigation discovered the latest misconduct at affiliate Nissan Shatai's Shonan factory on 11 October, a Nissan spokesman told Reuters.
At a news conference on 2 October, chief executive Hiroto Saikawa had said only certified technicians had conducted checks since 20 September.
However, two uncertified technicians carried out inspections at the Shonan plant even after that date, the automaker told the news agency on Wednesday, with around 3,800 vehicles affected.
Shipments of vehicles produced at the Shonan plant were suspended after the issue was discovered and resumed on 16 October, Nissan added.
Reuters noted the ministry of land, infrastructure and transport inspected Nissan's factories earlier this month, finding names of certified technicians used on documents to sign off final vehicle checks conducted by non certified technicians.
The ministry had asked Nissan to report measures to prevent a recurrence of the issue by the end of this month.
