Fuel Efficiency Exaggeration
The Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the United States imposed a fine of US$100 million on the Hyundai Motor Group, mentioning that its fuel efficiency exaggeration constituted a violation of the Clean Air Act. Specifically, the fine is divided into US$56.8 million for Hyundai Motor Company and US$43.2 million for Kia Motors.
Also, the greenhouse gas emission credits of the two automakers are planned to be cut by 2.7 million and 2.05 million points, respectively. This penalty means that the group has to pay US$200 million more than before for greenhouse gas emissions. This expenditure incurred by the gas mileage issue reaches a total of approximately 800 billion won (US$742 million) when the compensation for consumers and the US$300 million fine to be paid to the government are counted in.
The EPA investigated the group in November 2012. “Hyundai’s Elantra, Sonata Hybrid, Accent, Azera, Genesis, Tucson, and Veloster; and Kia’s Sorento, Rio, Soul, Sportage, and Optima Hybrid that have been put on the market since late 2010 carried exaggerated gas mileage values,” it announced at that time.
“The record high fine on the Hyundai Motor Group is to protect U.S. consumers,” said Secretary of Justice Eric Holder on Nov. 4. He added that his department is determined to punish any company making a false statement or violating the law.
In the meantime, the Hyundai Motor Group’s share in the U.S. auto market fell below 4 percent last month. This is the first time since December 2010 that its U.S. market share dropped below that mark. In October this year, the group sold 94,775 cars in the market to record a 1.6 percent sales volume growth from a year earlier, while the growth of the whole market averaged 6.1 percent.