Nissan to suspend vehicle registration in Japan

Nissan Motor said Friday it would temporarily halt new vehicle registrations in Japan after learning that thousands of models had been shipped out from factories after receiving final inspections by unauthorised employees.

The firm estimates that at least 60,000 vehicles may have been affected, but the number could rise following a full investigation, a Nissan spokesman said.

"The affected vehicles will be re-inspected and registrations will resume as checks are completed," Nissan said.

"Regarding affected vehicles already sold, owners will be contacted in due course with instructions on how they can have their vehicles re-inspected," it said.