South Korea toughens fuel economy rules

South Korea issued new rules on April 30 that will impose fines of more than US$900,000 on carmakers that overstate their vehicles’ gasoline mileage, as well as reduce the acceptable margin of error on fuel efficiency to 3%, from the current 5%.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy also imposed more stringent guidelines to calculate fuel mileage, which will lead to a 3-5% drop in a vehicle’s average overall fuel economy.
Hyundai’s popular mid-sized Sonata sedan, for example, will now have a fuel efficiency rating of 11.4 km per liter from the current 11.9 km per liter, the ministry said in a statement.
The measures are due to take effect from the second half of this year.
Last year, Hyundai and its Kia Motors Corp. affiliate admitted over-stating mileage on more than one million vehicles mostly sold in the United States and Canada, and agreed to compensate owners for the additional fuel costs.