Hyundai, Kia Successfully Resolve Fuel-economy Litigation

Hyundai and Kia, which had been found to be overstating fuel-economy ratings for certain of their products from the 2011-2013 model years, appear to have put the issue behind them with a new agreement with affected customers. The key change is a provision that will allow those owners to receive one-time, lump-sum payments instead of being limited to the original proposal, which provided lifetime benefits but did require periodic dealership visits to check vehicle mileage.

“Customers responded favorably to the original reimbursement program,” noted Hyundai general counsel W. Gerald Flannery, but the new “settlement is designed to provide them with an option, again intended to make customers fully whole for Hyundai’s fuel economy ratings restatement.”

Added another attorney who worked on the case, Rob Carey: “[The companies’] willingness to create a way for … customers to receive all of their future extra fuel expenses in a lump sum shows they are serious about making things right for their customers. [The brands] stepped up—and … customers will now get a full recovery without the inconvenience of repeated dealership visits and paperwork.”

Hyundai owners are expected to receive, on average, about $353, while Kia customers are in line for an average of $667.

Now, to be clear here, the court isn’t expected to review the new agreement until early next year, and there will certainly be some fine print involved, but both brands have launched websites designed to keep customers aware of the latest news. Please visit www.HyundaiMPGInfo.com or www.KiaMPGInfo.com for more information.

Also, and perhaps more importantly, the EPA happens to have released its recent report on 2012 model-year fuel economy, and the publication includes “corrected data” for the Hyundai/Kia vehicles in question. And according to that document, Hyundai still had the industry’s top fuel-economy performance, with a fleet-wide average of 28.3 mpg, while Kia’s 27.3 mpg mark was good for second place.