Hyundai and Kia settle US mileage claims

Δημοσιεύθηκε: 3 Νοεμβρίου 2014 - 18:36

Korean carmakers Hyundai and Kia have agreed to settle claims they overstated fuel economy statistics for almost 1.2m vehicles sold in the US for a record $300m.

The penalties from the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency reflect a hardening of official attitudes towards alleged misconduct by carmakers.

The businesses, stablemates within the Hyundai business grouping, will pay $100m, the largest civil penalty in the history of the US Clean Air Act and will forfeit greenhouse gas emission credits with an estimated value of more than $200m.

The EPA said the joint research and development wing of the two businesses chose better than average test results for fuel economy as representative, making it appear that their cars got up to 6 miles more per gallon than warranted at a time when high oil prices had made fuel economy a key battleground for automobile groups.

The models in question included the Hyundai Accent, Elantra and Veloster and Kia's Rio and Soul vehicles.

John Krafcik, president and chief executive of Hyundai Motor America, said "We're extremely sorry about these errors." Representatives of Kia Motors America and the testing group expressed their penitence. A statement blamed the errors on "procedural errors".

The agreement comes at a time when carmakers are under pressure from US regulators on a variety of fronts. Earlier this year, Toyota made a $1.2bn payment to the DoJ and the Department of Transportation earlier this year. This helped settle a criminal investigation into delayed recalls of faulty vehicles.

The failure of General Motors to disclose information concerning malfunctioning ignitions attracted wide criticism. The Department for Transportation fined the US group $35m in May and it remains exposed to a criminal investigation by the DoJ.

Toyota and Hyundai were both the targets of protectionist rhetoric in the US last decade as they made inroads into the sales of domestic car producers. However, US carmakers required government bailouts during the financial crisis.

The settlement with Hyundai and Kia could open the way to regulatory action against other vehicle makers that have been over-optimistic in their fuel efficiency claims. Ford recently admitted that it had overstated the fuel efficiency of half a dozen models and paid compensation to people who had purchased the cars.

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