Missouri will receive $969,000 to resolve allegations of state consumer protection law violations
Jefferson City, Mo – Attorney General Chris Koster announced today that Missouri will receive $969,231 as part of a multistate settlement with automakers Hyundai and Kia to resolve claims that the companies misrepresented the mileage and fuel economy ratings for some of their model year 2011, 2012 and 2013 vehicles.
The $41.2 million settlement between 33 states and the District of Columbia and the Hyundai Motor Company, Hyundai Motor America, Kia Motors Corporation, Inc., and Kia Motors America, Inc., concludes a multi-state investigation into the companies’ business practices relating to fuel economy estimate adjustments that occurred at a time when gasoline prices in the United States were especially high.
“Consumers need to be able to rely on the information they are given when deciding whether to purchase a product,” Koster said. “When they mislead Missourians, we will hold companies accountable.”
State and federal law require clear and accurate fuel economy labels for vehicles sold in the United States. Before vehicles may be offered for sale in the country, auto manufacturers must conduct testing under mandatory protocols set by government regulators and use the resulting data from that testing to support applications demonstrating their vehicles’ conformity to those standards.
In November 2012, Hyundai and Kia announced they were adjusting and restating the fuel economy ratings for certain model year 2011, 2012 and 2013 vehicles after it was revealed that the companies had overstated the fuel efficiency of some of the their vehicles.
The states alleged that Hyundai and Kia incorporated the inflated and inaccurate data into the estimated mileage ratings displayed on the window stickers of hundreds of thousands of cars in Missouri and across the country. The states also alleged that the companies sought to capitalize on the erroneous mileage estimates by placing them prominently in a variety of advertisements and other promotional campaigns.
The states alleged that these actions were likely to mislead consumers and wrongly influence consumers’ decisions to purchase particular vehicles during a time of high gasoline prices, when consumers were particularly sensitive to an automobile’s fuel mileage. Attorney General Koster alleged that these actions constituted violations of Missouri’s Mechanizing Practices Act.
