The Fair Trade Commission of South Korea is expected to impose a fine of 10 billion won (equivalent to 52.91 million yuan) on Tesla for not correctly informing consumers of mileage.
Recently, a number of South Korean media have issued articles comparing Tesla's mileage-related logo with Korean car companies. For example, the specifications of the Kia EV6 in South Korea indicate the city, highway and comprehensive mileage. But Tesla has pointed out that there is no such description on the website.
Tesla applies the same website design platform to all language pages around the world, including South Korea. It is reported that the South Korea page is directly managed by Tesla's US headquarters. Therefore, some analysts believe that the composition of the vehicle introduction page may be different from the method used by Korean car manufacturers, which will cause misunderstanding to users.
If you look at the Tesla Model 3 vehicle description page, only the maximum mileage is displayed. Taking the Model 3 Long Range currently on sale as an example, the maximum driving range certified by the South Korean government is 528 kilometers. On this vehicle description page, you can't find miles based on highway or city restrictions.
Model 3 Long Range based on highway or city center mileage information, can consumers know? There is a way to find it.
Tesla has a separate support page. The support page is mainly divided into three categories: vehicle functions and charging, service and body repair, and Tesla account.
In the "Vehicle Features and Charging" column, there is a "Korea Certified Fuel Efficiency" menu. In the Korea Certified Fuel Economy menu, there is a form of government-approved standard fuel economy and each vehicle class.
If you look at the Model 3 government-approved standard fuel economy and ratings table, city and highway mileage is displayed. The model 3 has a maximum range combination of 528 km, the city center is 545 km and the highway is 507 km. The information is based on the currently sold model. Since the launch of the Model 3 in South Korea in 2020, Tesla's page has not changed.
This rating is based on room temperature above minus 6.7 degrees Celsius. Mileage calculated based on low temperatures below minus 6.7 degrees Celsius is not included.
In addition, Tesla wrote a notice at the bottom of the rating form, saying that "the above fuel efficiency is based on the standard model, according to the road conditions, driving mode, vehicle loading, and actual driving fuel efficiency, maintenance conditions and outdoor temperature." ”
Hyundai and Kia posted the same rating table as Tesla on the "Specs" menu of their electric vehicle pages. Hyundai Motor Company stated on the IONIQ 5 specification introduction page, "Fuel economy is fuel efficiency in standard mode, which differs from actual driving fuel efficiency depending on road conditions, driving style, vehicle loading, maintenance conditions and outdoor temperature." ”
Currently, in South Korea, there is no legal requirement to indicate cryogenic mileage on pages and catalogs for eviction vehicle sales. To this end, Hyundai Motor, Kia, Tesla and other automakers that sell electric vehicles do not separately indicate low temperature mileage.
The FTC is preparing to impose a 10 billion won fine on Tesla for failing to properly communicate low-temperature mileage information to consumers. The news was reported not only in the South Korean media, but also in foreign media such as Electric Vehicles, a professional media for electric vehicles in the United States.
Electrec said in a FTC-related report on the 16th, "The lack of low-temperature mileage display is not only a problem for Tesla, but also for all electric car manufacturers, and it is unfair to punish Tesla." ”