Hyundai, Kia Overstated Fuel Economy Claims

The U.S. units of Hyundai Motor Co. and affiliate Kia Motors Corp. overstated the fuel economy numbers on the new-car window stickers on 35% of the vehicles they sold over the past two years, The Detroit News reports.

John Krafcik, president and CEO of Hyundai America, tells the newspaper the two brands inadvertently misstated fuel efficiency estimates on about 900,000 cars from the 2010-2013 model years.

The Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the company to lower fuel economy claims for 13 Hyundai and Kia vehicles from the 2012 and 2013 model years. Those include three models the Hyundai Accent, Elantra and Veloster for which Hyundai had bragged about highway fuel efficiency of 40 miles per gallon. They must now be rated at 37 mpg-38 mpg highway.

The other affected models include versions of the Hyundai Azera, Genesis, Santa Fe, Sonata Hybrid and Tucson and Kia Optima Hybrid, Rio, Sorrento, Soul and Sportage.

Adjusting the data will reduce Hyundai-Kia's fleet average fuel economy to 26 mpg from 27 mpg for the 2012 model year, according to Krafcik. He says the companies will knock 1 mpg off the combined city/highway estimates for about 580,000 vehicles, 2 mpg for 240,000 cars and 3-4 mpg for 80,000 units sold during model years 2011-2013.

The companies plan to reimburse customers in the form of debit cards for the savings they would have realized if the mileage estimates for their cars had been more accurate plus 15% for the inconvenience. Current owners can refresh their cards for as long as they own the vehicles.

EPA, which could levy fines against the companies, began investigating a discrepancy in Hyundai's fuel economy estimates for the 2012 Elantra sedan early this year and later expanded its probe.

The companies say they have changed the "coastdown" procedure at their testing centers in South Korea that accidentally inflated the highway fuel economy numbers. Coastdown testing simulates aerodynamic drag, tire rolling resistance and drivetrain friction losses.