U.S. EPA says fuel economy claims by Hyundai and Kia are overstated

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began an investigation on the fuel economy claims of Hyundai and Kia vehicles, which the two automakers have been selling since 2010 after receiving complaints from drivers. EPA tests showed that the actual mileage of those models fell short of what was claimed, in the range of one or two miles per gallon (0.9 kilometer/liter), and in one case as much as six miles per gallon (2.6 kilometers/liter). About 1.07 million cars are said to be affected.
Hyundai and Kia, which are both owned by South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group, said that the errors were not intentional, and accepted the EPA findings. The companies said they will compensate about 900,000 customers who have bought cars with misleading mileage stickers.
Meanwhile, 23 consumers have filed a US$775 million class-action lawsuit in California against Hyundai Motors and Kia, for false advertising. Other smaller lawsuits have been filed elsewhere in the United States. The Korean automakers had announced compensation for customers after the EPA announcement, but Seattle-based law firm Hagens Berman which filed the US$775 million lawsuit in Los Angeles rejected the compensation plans being offered by Hyundai and Kia. A Hyundai spokesman said that the compensation program is the company’s fastest way to resolve the problem.
The EPA will revise the mileage stickers for most of the Hyundai and Kia 2012 and 2013 models, lowering the average fuel economy in 2012 down to 26 miles per gallon (11 kilometers/liter). The latest models of the Hyundai Elantra, Accent and Veloster, as well as the Kia Rio, will no longer be able to claim 40 miles per gallon (17 km/l) on the highway. (November 3/12, 2012)