Hyundai-Kia to Pay U.S. $100 Million for Overstating mpg

Hyundai and Kia are accused of taking car buyers for a ride.

According to the Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency, the automakers gave consumers inaccurate information about the fuel economy of 1.2 million different vehicles manufactured between 2011 and 2013.  

The companies will pay a $100-million fine - $50-million to prevent future violations and forfeit more than $200-million in greenhouse gas emission credits.    

Attorney General Eric Holder says, "This will send a strong message that cheating is not profitable - and that any company that violates the law will be held to account."

The companies are accused of overstating fuel economy by one to six miles per gallon and of causing more pollution than the law allows.  

 

The EPA administrator stopped short of saying the companies deliberately broke the law but called their testing...."systematically flawed."

Hyundai agreed to the settlement and is reimbursing affected customers, but the company denies the allegations in the government's complaint maintaining that "it has been in compliance with the Clean Air Act."

And in a statement the president and CEO said, "we are pleased to put this behind us."

"They've had very good records of low maintenance and good performance.

Automotive analyst Craig Carlson says - despite the record fine - this will be a brief bump in the road for the automakers.

“I think they'll suffer a small reduction in sales, but over a period of time, I don't think it's going to have much of an effect."