USANews版 - Hyundai Retreats on Fuel-Economy Claims |
|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
l****z
发帖数: 29846 | 1 By EVAN RAMSTAD And MIKE RAMSEY
Hyundai Motor Co 005380.SE -0.46% . and Kia Motors Corp. 000270.SE +0.67%
overstated the fuel economy for more than a third of the vehicles they sold
in the U.S. in the last two years, an embarrassing concession by two of the
fastest growing car makers in the U.S.
On Friday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Hyundai and Kia
issued incorrect mileage estimates on fuel consumption for about 900,000
vehicles sold since late 2010. Such estimates appear on new-vehicle window
stickers intended to provide car buyers information on a vehicles fuel-
economy under different driving conditions.
Hyundai Motor Group, which owns both companies, acknowledged its estimates
differed from the fuel economy figures produced by the EPA during its
investigation. The South Korean company apologized for what it called "
procedural errors" in its testing, issued new estimates and agreed to
compensate buyers of cars and sport-utility vehicles that were incorrectly
labeled.
It's the largest correction of mileage calculations by any auto maker since
the EPA began its testing procedures. Since 2000, only two other vehicles, a
2012 BMWBMW.XE +2.65% 328i and a 2001 Dodge Ram pickup, have had to lower
their mileage claims, the EPA said.
The changes will lower the miles-per-gallon estimates on most of Hyundai and
Kia's 2012-13 models. Their combined fleetwide fuel economy average will
fall to 26 mpg for 2012 models from 27 mpg.
For the Hyundai Elantra, the change means its EPA mileage rating drops to 28
mpg city and 38 mpg highway, down from 29/40. The Kia Soul Eco falls to 26
mpg city and 31 mpg highway, from 29/36.
"We are going to make this right and we will be more driven than ever to
make sure our vehicles deliver outstanding fuel economy," said John Krafcik,
chief executive of the North American sales arm of the company. Hyundai
said human error led to incorrect calculations of the cars' mileage.
The 2013 vehicles with lower than advertised fuel economy include the
Hyundai Accent, Elantra, Genesis Azera, Santa Fe, Tucson and Veloster. Kia's
2013 vehicles include the Rio, Sorento, Soul and Sportage. For 2012 models,
Kia's Optima hybrid and Hyundai's Sonata hybrid are added to the list.
Customers will receive a debit card that will reimburse them for their
difference in the EPA combined fuel economy rating, based on the fuel price
in their area and their own actual miles driven.
The blunder could hurt Hyundai's reputation, particularly because the
company has built its marketing on claims of 40 mpg on the highway in many
of its cars. Three Hyundai models and one Kia car that purportedly could get
40 mpg in highway driving were shown to fall short of that mark.
They are the Hyundai Elantra, Accent and Veloster, and the Kia Rio, all
small cars.
Following the EPA readjustment, fuel economy for the Elantra, one of Hyundia
's top-selling cars, falls to 28 mpg in city driving and 38 mpg on the
highway, from 29 mpg and 40 mpg, respectively.
The company estimated that a Florida Hyundai owner who drove 15,000 miles
over a year would be eligible for a more than $90 reimbursement. It had no
estimate on the total cost of compensating customers. Based on its reduced
fleet fuel-economy and the number of vehicles involved, it could run into
the tens of millions of dollars a year.
Hyundai has tweaked General Motors Co. GM +0.31% and Ford Motor Co. F -0.58%
by noting that its American rivals offer a few models that achieve 40 miles
a gallon, as long as they include certain modifications and extra
technology—changes sometimes highlighted in the U.S. companies'
advertisements with asterisks. Hyundai claimed standard versions of cars
like the Elantra could get 40 mpg without special fuel-saving features. It
called the campaign "Save the Asterisks."
The EPA opened its investigation after receiving inquiries from other car
makers about Hyundai and Kia's mileage claims and complaints from consumers
who weren't achieving the fuel economy advertised on the label.
To rebut Hyundai's mileage estimates, Ford last year set up a test of a Ford
Focus and an Elantra that were equipped with sophisticated fuel monitors.
Journalists were challenged to achieve the fuel-economy advertised in each
car's window sticker. A Ford spokesman said on Friday it did not ask the EPA
to retest Hyundai's claims.
The EPA allows car makers to submit mileage estimates, which it certifies,
and post them on the window stickers that customers see. The agency
occasionally undertakes more comprehensive investigations with car makers.
"EPA had received a number of consumer complaints about Hyundai mileage
estimates. Through the agency's ongoing audit program, staff experts at EPA'
s [National Vehicle Fuel Economy Laboratory] observed discrepancies between
results from EPA testing of a MY2012 Hyundai Elantra and information
provided to EPA by Hyundai," the EPA said in a statement.
With tests it made at the Hyundai-Kia research and development facility in
suburban Seoul over recent months, the agency identified mistakes the firm
made when it changed its fuel-testing procedure in 2010. Some of the models
that Hyundai and Kia currently sell in the U.S. aren't affected because
their mileage was tested under conditions the EPA signed off on before 2010.
"We're not going to argue this. We're going to pay people back for the money
they had to spend," the Hyundai spokesman said. "Fuel efficiency and the
trust of our customers is the most important thing."
Under the compensation plan, buyers of Hyundai and Kia cars will visit
dealers for an odometer check and an estimate of what they would have saved
if the fuel mileage had lived up to the overstated estimate on the window
sticker. The reimbursement will continue for as long as customers own the
cars, the company spokesman said.
Following the placement of new mileage estimates on the window sticker, new
buyers won't be compensated. In September 2008, the company announced a plan
to reach the 2020 U.S. fuel efficiency standard of 35 mpg by the 2015 model
year in both the Hyundai and Kia fleets. The spokesman said that goal
wouldn't be affected by the lower mpg estimate on the current vehicles. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
