Car-makers must also forfeit $200m worth of carbon credits after understating lifetime CO2 emissions on some of its models by about 4.75m metric tons
Hyundai and Kia have agreed to pay $100m (£62m) in fines and forfeit $200m in credits for misleading customers about the fuel economy of more than a million cars sold in the US.
Monday’s fine for the South Korean car-makers is the largest in the 50-year history of the Clean Air Act, and could set a precedent for Ford and other car companies audited for similar practices.
Hyundai and Kia agreed to the fines after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Justice Department found the car-makers had misled consumers about fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions on several models, including the popular Accent and Elantra.
After fuel prices spiked in 2008, Hyundai gained a marketing edge by claiming that its cars got 40 miles per gallon in highway driving. The inflated fuel economy claims involved about 1.2m vehicles, about a quarter of the 2011-2013 models sold in the US, the EPA found.
“Hyundai and Kia gave consumers inaccurate information about the real-world fuel economy performance of many of these vehicles,” the EPA said in a statement on Monday.
The agency said the car-makers chose the most favourable results, rather than the average, when processing test data, inflating fuel economy by one to six miles per gallon. They understated greenhouse gas emissions of their fleets by about 4.75m metric tons over the estimated lifetime of the vehicles.
The company claimed at the time that engineers running the tests had made mistakes. They lowered the claims, and offered compensation to car owners for the extra fuel costs.
Under the agreement, the EPA said the companies accepted an audit of the 2015 and 2016 models, and to overhaul test protocols before its 2017 models come to market.
The companies will also give up 4.75m carbon credits. Those credits had allowed Kia and Hyundai to go on selling the big gas-guzzling models that remain popular with American consumers. The EPA said they were worth more than $200m.
David Zuchowski, Hyundai’s chief executive in the US, said in a statement: “Hyundai has acted transparently, reimbursed affected customers and fully cooperated with the EPA throughout the course of its investigation.
Since the 2012 audit of Hyundai, the EPA has taken a closer look at other car company claims. Ford, Mercedes-Benz and other companies have reduced mileage claims for some models after EPA audits.“We are happy to put this behind us.”
“Businesses that play by the rules shouldn’t have to compete with those breaking the law,” the EPA administrator, Gina McCarthy, said on Monday. “This settlement upholds the integrity of the nation’s fuel economy and greenhouse gas programs and supports all Americans who want to save fuel costs and reduce their environmental impact.”
In June, Ford admitted to overstating mileage claims and agreed to compensate owners for extra fuel costs. The company said the initial mileage claims were a mistake.
誇大油耗遭罰近百億 韓現代汽車補破網
TVBS – 2015年7月23日 下午9:48相關內容
- 誇大油耗遭罰近百億 韓現代汽車補破網
▲(圖：達志影像／美聯社／版權所有，禁止轉載)
南韓大財團，近幾年迅速成為全球知名的大品牌，業務版圖遍及全球，不過到各國做生意，就得遵守各國法規，現代汽車就曾因為虛報油耗數據，遭到美國司法部重罰3億美元，雖然現代堅稱是「計算方式不同」，但這項裁決已經嚴重影響企業形象。
起亞汽車廣告：「新車嗎？是的，先生。」
找來小皇帝LeBron James亮相開新車，南韓起亞汽車連續第6年成為NBA大金主。今年，母集團現代汽車更宣佈擠下通用，成為美式足球聯盟NFL的最大贊助商。
挑美國最熱門的運動賽事下手，不難看出南韓現代有多重視美國市場，但最新一季的獲利卻大幅萎縮，最主要就是因為美國和大陸銷售不佳。
主播：「南韓最大汽車製造商，現代汽車公佈了令人失望的財報結果，第二季淨利約15億美元，較去年同期減24%。」
現代在美國衝市佔率，去年卻重重摔一跤，被美國司法部查出油耗數據灌水，遭到嚴懲，和解金1億美元，加上要退回先前的補助款，總共3.5億美元的天價罰金。
美國司法部長霍德：「首先現代和起亞必須繳交一億美元的民事罰款，這是空汙法之下開出，最高額的和解罰金。」
美國司法部表示，是經過2年的調查才做出這項裁決，但是現代汽車並不承認數據是假的，他們認為是「計算方式不同」造成的誤差。
新聞片段：「現代汽車否認捏造哩程數，他們認為這種分歧，可能是因為使用的公式和計算方法不同。」
現代汽車為此還特別製作了影片，為自己喊冤，講解到底怎麼測油耗，砲轟美國政府的標準很模糊。
現代汽車影片：「沒有任何一家汽車製造商做的，滑行實驗和道路載荷計算，會完全一模一樣，不管這之中的差異多麼微小，最終都會影響數據結果。」
抗議歸抗議，現代汽車還是得和解，還要賠償消費者，加加起來總共代價超過7億美元，美國政府也藉此判決殺雞儆猴，要其他車商別犯一樣的錯。
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