Fuel economy fraud
November 3, 2014
Hyundai and Kia will have to pay $100 million (80 million euros) as the largest civil penalty ever imposed under the four-decade-old Clean Air Act, the US Department of Justice announced Monday.
Investigations into exaggerated fuel efficiency data for 2012 and 2013 car models sold in the US had shown that the South Korean auto makers used inaccurately low numbers to demonstrate compliance with emissions standards.
The report said the companies cherry-picked data and conducted tests in ways that did not reflect good engineering judgment.
"Hyundai and Kia calculated higher fuel economy and lower greenhouse gas emissions than these vehicles actually have," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.
Lessons to learn
As part of the settlement, the carmakers will forfeit the greenhouse gas credits that the firms wrongly claimed based on their inaccurate reporting.
"Businesses that play by the rules shouldn't have to compete with those breaking the law," said Gina McCarthy, administrator with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The South Koreans agreed to have an independent certification group oversee their fuel economy testing, data management and reporting in the future.
hg/sgb (Reuters, AFP)