Hyundai And Kia Release Statements After Being Fined For Advertising Misleading Gas Mileage

Statement From Hyundai

Hyundai today announced that it has 
entered into an agreement with the 
U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) and California Air
Resources Board (CARB) to resolve 
the government’s investigation of 
its 2012 restatement of fuel economy 
ratings. The adjustment affected 
approximately one-quarter 
of Hyundai 2011-13 model year vehicles, 
reducing their combined city/highway 
fuel economy by 1-2 miles per gallon (mpg). As part of the agreement, Hyundai 
will pay a $56.8 million civil penalty, forgo the use of approximately 2.7 million 
greenhouse gas (GHG) emission credits – the credits representing the difference 
between original and restated emission data – and continue to implement a 
series of measures including the formation of an independent certification test 
group to oversee the automaker’s fuel economy testing, training, data 
management and reporting. Additionally, Hyundai will continue to audit model 
year 2015-16 vehicles to confirm the accuracy of their fuel economy ratings.

“Hyundai has acted transparently, reimbursed affected customers and fully 
cooperated with the EPA throughout the course of its investigation,” said David 
Zuchowski, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America. “We are pleased to 
put this behind us, and gratified that even with our adjusted fuel economy ratings, Hyundai continues to lead the automotive industry in fuel efficiency and environmental 
performance.”

According to the EPA Fuel Economy Trends Report, Hyundai’s adjusted fuel 
economy ratings are 27.2 mpg for 2011, 28.3 mpg for 2012 and 29.0 mpg 
for 2013 model year vehicles.[1] Similarly, the Union of Concerned Scientists 
recently named Hyundai the “Greenest Automaker” for the 2013 model year 
based on emissions of nitrogen oxide, non-methane organic gas and CO₂.

Importantly, Hyundai believes its process for testing the fuel economy of its 
vehicles is consistent with government regulations and guidance, which afford 
broad latitude to vehicle manufacturers in determining test conditions. Outside 
of a data processing error related to the coastdown testing method by which 
Hyundai calculated resistance or “road load,” it was Hyundai’s regulatory 
interpretation within this broad latitude that was responsible for the ratings 
restatement. Hyundai has corrected the error, and the EPA in October 2012 
approved the automaker’s new fuel economy testing program.

Over the past 30 years, the EPA has acknowledged the variability of its 
coastdown testing,[2] and currently is working to develop new guidance 
for the industry in order to improve its precision, repeatability and accuracy.

“Hyundai is committed to partnering with the government to innovate fuel 
economy testing procedures in order to achieve more accurate and reliable 
‘real-world’ results for consumers,” said Zuchowski.

There is no environmental impact resulting from Hyundai’s fuel economy 
ratings restatement, and the automaker will continue to hold a surplus of 
GHG credits – approximately 20 million – following implementation of today’s 
settlement. To compensate the national program to reduce GHG emissions 
and improve fuel economy, Hyundai will amend the GHG reports it submitted 
to the EPA before understanding that its interpretation of industry test 
procedures differed from the government’s reading of the same procedures.

About Hyundai’s Fuel Economy Restatement and Customer 
Reimbursement Program

On November 2, 2012, Hyundai announced the voluntary adjustment of fuel 
economy ratings for approximately one-quarter of its 2011-13 model year 

vehicles, reducing their combined city/highway fuel economy by 1-2 miles per 
gallon, and relabeled affected vehicles still in dealer showrooms. In order to 
compensate affected customers, Hyundai provided a lifetime reimbursement 
program to cover the additional fuel costs associated with the rating change 
plus a 15 percent premium in acknowledgment of the inconvenience. The 
majority of customers affected by the ratings restatement enrolled in the 
automaker’s reimbursement program and are being compensated based 
on their actual mileage and the fuel costs for the region in which they live. 
While customers responded favorably to the reimbursement program, Hyundai 
through a recent class action settlement offered the option of a single lump 
sum cash payment for those customers who would rather not return to a 
dealership to have their mileage verified. So, through either the one-time 
lump sum payment or original lifetime reimbursement program, customers 
have the option of being made fully whole for Hyundai’s ratings restatement.

Statement From Kia

“Kia Motors is a responsible company, and the agreement with the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency is the result of good-faith efforts among the 

parties to resolve our issues. We are pleased to have this matter behind us, 

and our priority remains making things right for our customers through our 

fair and transparent reimbursement program which remains in effect and 

unchanged by this settlement. Please visit www.KiaMPGinfo.com for the 

latest information.”