TOKYO -- Mitsubishi Motors, now at the center of a fuel efficiency scandal, saw domestic sales of new minicars tumble 45% in April from a year earlier to about 1,500 vehicles, industry sources said on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Nissan Motor's domestic sales of minicars, which have an engine displacement of 660cc or less, plunged 51% year-on-year in April to about 5,500 vehicles, the sources said.

Mitsubishi Motors makes minicars for Nissan on a contract basis.

The four models affected by the scandal are Mitsubishi Motors' eK Wagon and eK Space and Nissan's Dayz and Dayz Roox.

The automakers suspended sales of the four models on April 20.

The eK series accounts for just over 40% of Mitsubishi Motors' overall new car sales in Japan, including vehicles bigger than minicars. The Dayz line makes up a little more than 20% of Nissan's overall sales.

With sales of such popular cars now suspended, Mitsubishi Motors saw its overall new car sales in Japan fall by about 15% in April from a year earlier. For Nissan, the figure was 22%.

The rest of the industry, meanwhile, went the other way. Overall sales of new cars in Japan, including minicars and bigger vehicles, rose for the first time in 16 months in April from a year earlier, increasing 2% to about 325,000 units, the sources said.

(Nikkei)