Honest Gesture
GM Korea announced on Nov. 3 that it voluntarily corrected the gas mileage estimate of the 1,800 cc gasoline models of the Chevrolet Cruze and the Lacetti Premiere, and will provide cash compensation for customers.
“We recently examined the fuel economy of the Chevrolet Cruze on our own to find out that the actual gas mileage of the 1,800 cc gasoline models manufactured between 2010 and this year was lower than that in our advertisement,” a company representative explained, adding, “We lowered the latter value from 12.4 km per liter to 11.3 km per liter for sedans, and from 12.4 km per liter to 11.1 km per liter for hatchbacks.”
The company is planning to pay 431,000 won to each of the owners of the cars in question. A total of 82,231 people are subject to compensation. “However, the same model sold in other countries followed different measurement procedures, and thus have nothing to do with the correction limited to the Korean market,” it continued.
In the meantime, a local law firm announced on the same day that it would sue GM Korea for the same issue apart from the company’s measures. The firm is aiming at 1.5 million won (US$1,389) in compensation per customer.