Yesterday I asked if there were other car companies who would get caught in a fuel economy scandal. Today I got my answer in the form of GM admitting that that it overstated fuel economy numbers on some models of SUVs. Here’s what The Globe And Mail said:
The Detroit auto maker said on Friday it was temporarily halting sales of about 60,000 new 2016 U.S. SUVs because the vehicles’ labels overstated their fuel efficiency. GM plans to compensate owners for the difference in miles per gallon and announce the program in the coming week, the sources said.
GM resumed sales once the new labels with the correct labels arrived at dealerships starting Saturday.
GM is expected to offer a cash compensation program to address the extra costs of driving based on the lower fuel economy, the sources said.
GM Canada is expected to offer a similar compensation program, but it is not clear how many owners are impacted.
GM has sold about 170,000 2016 SUVs in the United States, and about 130,000 are retail sales which will qualify for the compensation program. The remainder of the vehicles were sold to rental car, commercial and fleet buyers. It is not clear how GM will address those owners.
A GM spokesman declined to confirm the program.
This isn’t good. But at least they’re doing the right thing by compensating customers. This is kind of similar to what Hyundai/Kia did a few years back where they had to admit that they overstated fuel economy numbers. This is important as consumers use that as a key point to choose one brand or one model over another.
I have to wonder if there’s another car company who will trip over an issue like this as I think this story is far from over.
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This entry was posted on May 19, 2016 at 7:30 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags GM. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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GM Admits To Dodgy Fuel Economy Numbers
Yesterday I asked if there were other car companies who would get caught in a fuel economy scandal. Today I got my answer in the form of GM admitting that that it overstated fuel economy numbers on some models of SUVs. Here’s what The Globe And Mail said:
The Detroit auto maker said on Friday it was temporarily halting sales of about 60,000 new 2016 U.S. SUVs because the vehicles’ labels overstated their fuel efficiency. GM plans to compensate owners for the difference in miles per gallon and announce the program in the coming week, the sources said.
GM resumed sales once the new labels with the correct labels arrived at dealerships starting Saturday.
GM is expected to offer a cash compensation program to address the extra costs of driving based on the lower fuel economy, the sources said.
GM Canada is expected to offer a similar compensation program, but it is not clear how many owners are impacted.
GM has sold about 170,000 2016 SUVs in the United States, and about 130,000 are retail sales which will qualify for the compensation program. The remainder of the vehicles were sold to rental car, commercial and fleet buyers. It is not clear how GM will address those owners.
A GM spokesman declined to confirm the program.
This isn’t good. But at least they’re doing the right thing by compensating customers. This is kind of similar to what Hyundai/Kia did a few years back where they had to admit that they overstated fuel economy numbers. This is important as consumers use that as a key point to choose one brand or one model over another.
I have to wonder if there’s another car company who will trip over an issue like this as I think this story is far from over.
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This entry was posted on May 19, 2016 at 7:30 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags GM. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.