Hyundai Motor Group's Electric Vehicle Sales Data Under Question in the US
TapTechNews July 9th news, Hyundai Motor Group is currently the world's third-largest automaker after Volkswagen and Toyota. However, some of its US dealers have questioned its electric vehicle sales data, claiming that the actual sales are not as high as officially reported.
According to the indictment, Hyundai is alleged to have colluded with some dealers to inflate sales figures. The lawsuit was filed in the federal court in Chicago, accusing Hyundai of pressuring dealers to abuse the inventory codes used for leased vehicles. This practice can temporarily boost internal and external sales data, but dealers still have to change the vehicle codes when they are actually sold.
In return, dealers participating in the scheme can receive rewards from Hyundai, such as buying cars at a lower cost, getting better car allocation rights, and additional cash rewards. It should be noted that these are currently only accusations and have not yet been ruled by the court.
One of the plaintiff's evidences is a recording in which a regional sales manager of Hyundai said, Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures... We must achieve a good-looking data to satisfy the media and the Korean headquarters. The manager also said that electric vehicles are the perfect target for implementing this plan because the relevant codes are more applicable to electric vehicles.
The dealer who filed the lawsuit belongs to the Napleton Aurora Imports group. According to Reuters, this group had filed a lawsuit against Chrysler for alleged manipulation of sales data in 2019 and finally reached a settlement agreement.
TapTechNews noted that also in 2019, Chrysler was also fined about $40 million by the US Securities and Exchange Commission for being accused of misleading investors by inflating monthly sales data. It is currently unclear how many Hyundai vehicles have been sold in this way, and relevant information may be announced in the future.
Hyundai Motor said it is investigating this matter and will not tolerate the forgery of sales data.