A Tesla electric vehicle is parked at the Tesla Supercharger station in Suwon, South Korea on August 7, 2022.
SeongJoonCho | Bloomberg | beautiful pictures
South Korea’s antitrust regulator says it will fine 2.85 billion won ($2.2 million) for Tesla for failing to inform customers of the electric vehicle’s shorter driving range in low-temperature conditions.
The Korean Fair Trade Commission said Tesla overstated “the driving range of cars on a single charge, their fuel-cost efficiency compared to petrol cars, as well as the performance of Superchargers” on its website. its official locality since August 2019 until recently.
The KFTC said in a statement Tuesday that the U.S. EV maker’s car driving range is up to 50.5% lower in cold weather compared to how they’re advertised online.
Tesla could not be immediately reached for comment.
On its website, Tesla offers winter driving tips, such as pre-conditioning the vehicle with an external power source and using the updated Energy app to monitor energy consumption, but does not refers to the loss of driving range in sub-zero temperatures.
In 2021, Citizens United for Consumer Soreignty, a South Korean consumer group, says the driving range of most electric vehicles drops by up to 40% in cold temperatures when the battery needs to be warmed up, where Tesla suffers benefit the most, citing data from the country’s environment ministry.
Last year, the KFTC fined German carmaker Mercedes-Benz and its Korean subsidiary 20.2 billion won for false advertising regarding the emissions of diesel passenger vehicles.
