Beshear: Commonwealth to Receive nearly $800,000 in Hyundai, Kia Settlement

NEWS RELEASE

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Oct. 27, 2016) – Attorney General Andy Beshear today announced that Kentucky will receive nearly $800,000 from a multistate settlement with automakers Hyundai and Kia for violating Kentucky’s Consumer Protection Act.

The settlement alleges that the automakers violated state law when they misrepresented the mileage and fuel economy ratings to consumers on model year 2011, 2012 and 2013 vehicles.

State and federal laws set limits on emissions from vehicles sold in the United States, Beshear said.

“Kia and Hyundai misled consumers by giving inaccurate data on thousands of cars in the Commonwealth and across the country,” Beshear said. “The automakers violated our state laws established to protect consumers. The funds from this settlement will go to the state’s General Fund so lawmakers can use the money on their priorities for Kentucky.”

The Commonwealth will receive a total of $781,833 from the multistate settlement, which includes 32 other states and the District of Columbia.

As part of a separate nationwide class action lawsuit, Hyundai and Kia have already offered restitution totaling $1.1 million to more than 6,300 Kentucky consumers to settle allegations the companies inflated the fuel economy data for their vehicles.

“The companies sought to capitalize on the erroneous mileage estimates by placing them prominently in a variety of advertisements and other promotional campaigns aimed directly at Kentucky consumers,” Beshear said. “Their actions were likely misleading and harmful to consumers who were looking for fuel economy at a time of high gasoline prices.”

The company’s alleged scheme was revealed in 2012. In late 2012, Hyundai and Kia announced they were adjusting and restating the fuel economy ratings for a number of their vehicles.

The Hyundai vehicles included the Accent, Azera, Elantra, Genesis, Santa Fe Sport, Sonata Hybrid, Tucson, Veloster and Veloster Turbo. The Kia vehicles included the Optima hybrid, Rio, Sportage, Sorento and Soul.

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