Even Back Home In Korea, Lying About Gas Mileage Can Get Expensive

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Guess which South Korean carmaker prompted the South Korean government to tighten its rules about overstating their cars’ mileage? Under new South Korean government rules “aimed at reassuring consumers after Hyundai Motor Co’s fuel economy fiasco last year” it can cost more than $900,000 if one is caught with overly optimistic mileage claims, Reuters says.

What’s more, the guidelines to calculate fuel mileage have been changed, which will lead to a 3-5 percent drop in a vehicle’s overall stated fuel economy.

Hyundai’s Sonata sedan, for example, will be said to get 11.4 km per liter, down from currently 11.9 km.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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 7 comments
  • Roger628 Roger628 on Apr 30, 2013

    The country has a super high population density with near gridlock conditions much of the time in Seoul. Even the smaller cities have terrible traffic. The expressways tend to be crowded too, the only time you can achieve a steady speed for any length of time is in the wee hours. None of this bodes well for mileage. I have no idea how they arrived at these figures, or what kind of duty cycle they are emulating, but it is not replicable in the real world here. Also there's a reason that no Korean cars are sold in the domestic market with cruise control. You simply will never ever get a chance to use it.

    • See 3 previous
    • Roger628 Roger628 on May 01, 2013

      @Walter A. Foreman Okay, a scant handful do. Fixed.

  • 86SN2001 86SN2001 on Apr 30, 2013

    Ford better watch out if they sell their cars there...

  • Wheeler Wheeler on Apr 30, 2013

    Does the commenter mean to imply that the teflon is not effective beyond the U.S. borders? :-o

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