Kia And Hyundai Prepare To Spend $412 Million In Exaggerated Fuel-Economy Debacle

Both Kia and Hyundai were recently slapped for embellishing their respective fuel economies, something that was blamed on procedural errors. Both companies promised to pay owners for the extra fuel consumption, however, a move that will amount to quite a hefty sum. The companies have made good on that claim, setting aside a combined $412 million to reimburse owners.

Both companies were found to have exaggerated the fuel economies of 13 vehicle models available in the United States by the Environmental Protection Agency. This amounted to nearly 900,000 vehicles, a figure large enough to penalize the manufacturers millions of dollars in reimbursements. For its part, Kia will pay out $187 million, and Hyundai will pay out $225 million.

The false fuel economy advertisement was said to have started back in 2010, and to affect 2011 through 2013 vehicle models. At the end of the probe, the two companies ended up having to reduce the fuel economy claims for the cars, the largest adjustment that has ever taken place. In most instances, the mileage claims were reduced between 1 and 4 MPG.

Vehicle owners will be sent debit cards with a specific amount of funds unique to them, which is based on the vehicle they own and how many miles they have driven. Hyundai's CEO is quoted by Auto Blog as being "extremely sorry" about the mileage errors, with both companies stating that the mistakes were not an intentional effort to mislead consumers.

[via Auto Blog]