A Tesla electric vehicle is parked at a Tesla Supercharger station in Suwon, South Korea, on August 7, 2022.
SeongJoon Cho | Bloomberg | Getty Images
South Korea’s antitrust authority said it would fine Tesla 2.85 billion won ($2.2 million) for failing to inform customers about the reduced range of its electric vehicles in cold temperatures.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission said that since August 2019, Tesla has exaggerated the “range of its cars on a single charge, their fuel cost efficiency compared to gasoline vehicles, as well as the performance of its superchargers” on its official local website.
The range of the US electric vehicle maker’s cars drops by as much as 50.5% in cold weather versus online advertising, the KFTC said in a statement Tuesday.
Tesla could not be immediately reached for comment.
Tesla offers winter driving tips on its website, such as: B. preconditioning vehicles with external power sources and using its updated Energy app to monitor energy consumption, but does not mention the loss of range in sub-zero temperatures.
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In 2021, Citizens United for Consumer Sovereignty, a South Korean consumer group, said most electric vehicles’ range decreases by up to 40% in cold temperatures when batteries need to be heated, with Tesla suffering the most, citing environmental data of the country ministry.
Last year, the KFTC fined German automaker Mercedes-Benz and its Korean unit 20.2 billion won for false advertising related to the exhaust emissions of its diesel cars.
