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After Ford reimbursed about 215,000 customers for exaggerated fuel economy ratings, now is the time for Kia and Hyundai to pay the price of lying. Without beating around the bush, the US government fined the South Korean brands a historic $100 million civil penalty... and both automakers agreed to pay it.
As you might’ve guessed by now , that fine is a record-breaking settlement, the biggest ever penalty awarded to any company that violated the Clean Air Act. According to a joint report from the Department of Justice, California Air Resources Board and the Environmental Protection Agency, the violations cover a mind-boggling 1.2 million cars.
Take a minute and try to take think that figure as simple as possible. 1.2 million vehicles with a few false extra mpg for each and every car equals to a humongous total of extra burned fuel and emissions released into the atmosphere. The three agencies claim that mpg and emissions revisions extrapolate a whopping 4.75 million metric tons of greenhouse gases over what Hyundai and Kia claimed to the EPA.
Because the two Korean brands were caught red-handed, the US government and eco-friendly bigwigs decided both carmakers will have to surrender 4.75 million greenhouse gas emission credits, valued by analysts at over $200 million. If you’re wondering what cars boasted with false mpg figures, these are more than a third of the 2011 to 2013 model years population, vehicles sold through October 2012.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s administrator Gina McCarthy told in an official statement that “businesses that play by the rules shouldn't have to compete with those breaking the law. 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."
Take a minute and try to take think that figure as simple as possible. 1.2 million vehicles with a few false extra mpg for each and every car equals to a humongous total of extra burned fuel and emissions released into the atmosphere. The three agencies claim that mpg and emissions revisions extrapolate a whopping 4.75 million metric tons of greenhouse gases over what Hyundai and Kia claimed to the EPA.
Because the two Korean brands were caught red-handed, the US government and eco-friendly bigwigs decided both carmakers will have to surrender 4.75 million greenhouse gas emission credits, valued by analysts at over $200 million. If you’re wondering what cars boasted with false mpg figures, these are more than a third of the 2011 to 2013 model years population, vehicles sold through October 2012.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s administrator Gina McCarthy told in an official statement that “businesses that play by the rules shouldn't have to compete with those breaking the law. 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."
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