The South Korean government will make it mandatory for local carmakers to disclose vehicles’ fuel economy starting in the second half of next year.
The latest measure for improving management of vehicles’ fuel economy was announced by the nation’s Ministry of Knowledge and Economy (MKE), Maeil Business Newspaper reported.
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Prior to the announcement of the measure, the government disclosed car models and ordered correction of their economy only when the fuel economy of involved models was inflated by more than 5%, the allowed margin of error.
Hyundai Motors and Kia Motors were recently accused of overstating economy and lost the market’s trust in the US. The disgrace has raised voices in the home market that fuel economy of car models needs to be made public in Korea as well, propelling the nation’s government to introduce the measure for management of fuel economy.
The Seoul authorities will also adopt air and other resistance assessments to boost credibility of carmakers’ own economy tests.
In addition, the authorities will narrow the permitted margin of error for fuel economy from -5% to -3%, and increase the ratio of testing subjects to the total volume of cars for sale to 10%.
Based on the new measures, the MKE plans to develop an improved, more comprehensive fuel economy management system by the end of this year by incorporating opinions from experts and the car industry.
