General Motors will give debit cards or extended warranties to 146,000 North American owners of new sport utility vehicles to compensate them because the automaker overstated the vehicles' fuel efficiency, a media report said.
The programme covers about 135,000 US owners and 11,000 in Canada, GM told Reuters. It added most of the debit cards would be worth US$450 to $900 for US owners of 2016 SUVs and CAD$1,000-$1,300 for Canadian owners. The maximum any owner would get is $1,500.
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The automaker said the programme would not have a material impact on financial results. A source not authorised to discuss the issue told Reuters the program would cost GM around $100m.
Mid last week, Reuters and other media outlets reported GM was planning the programme after the fuel economy error forced it to temporarily halt sales of about 60,000 new 2016 US SUVs. GM resumed sales once the correct fuel labels arrived at dealerships.
"We want all of our customers to have a great ownership experience, so we designed this reimbursement programme to provide full and fair compensation in a simple, flexible and timely manner," GM spokesman Jim Cain told Reuters.
GM has blamed the 1-2 mile-per-gallon overstatement on improper calculations that did not include data from tests on new emissions-related hardware in the 2016 Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave SUVs.
The US Environmental Protection Agency has asked GM to provide testing data, the report said
GM said buyers may choose a debit card or a 48-month/60,000-mile extended warranty plan designed for high-mileage customers and those who plan to keep vehicles for an extended period. Customers who leased vehicles will be offered a pre-paid debit card.
GM said it based reimbursement on the EPA formula used for window labels: "a fuel price of $3 per gallon and 15,000 miles of annual driving for five years".
GM has sold another 40,000 SUVs to rental car companies and commercial and government fleets. GM said it will would out compensation individually with government and commercial buyers.
Last week, a Florida owner of a 2016 SUV filed a class-action suit against GM on behalf of owners who bought vehicles with overstated fuel economy ratings, Reuters noted.
