Hyundai and Kia reach $41.2 million settlement with states over fuel economy claims

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. agreed to a $41.2 million settlement with attorneys general from 33 states and the District of Columbia that will close the remaining investigations into the automakers’ overstatement of fuel economy ratings from 2011 through 2013.

The settlement, announced today, is the final chapter in a saga that began in 2012 with the disclosure that Hyundai and Kia had overstated efficiency claims on some 1.2 million vehicles by one to two miles per gallon. 

The settlement was designed to prevent further litigation with the states, and in announcing the settlement, Hyundai admitted to no wrongdoing or violations of any laws.

The $41.2 million agreement will be used to “settle the States’ consumer protection claims and to cover their investigative costs,” Hyundai said in a statement.

That figure is relatively modest compared with other fines and settlements Hyundai and Kia were forced to pay in the wake of the disclosure. In 2013, the companies agreed to pay $395 million to settle consumer lawsuits and a year later Hyundai and Kia agreed to a $350 million settlement with the EPA and the Department of Justice to close the federal investigation.

The overstated fuel economy numbers involved eight Hyundai and five Kia models from the 2011, 2012 and 2013 model years.

Hyundai blamed the discrepancies on “procedural errors” in its own testing of its vehicles that led to different self-governed fuel economy numbers than the EPA test cycle.