Misleading electric car advert has surpassed claims of fast charging

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the UK has ruled both hyundai And Toyota misrepresentation of charging times in electric vehicle advertising campaigns.

Both automakers have announced advertising campaigns for 2022 that, according to the ASA, make false charging claims when compared to real-world cases where battery temperatures and ambient around, coupled with the lack of a super-fast DC charger, creates a variation in charging times.

Toyota and Hyundai defended the claims, saying the ad was designed to develop and promote electric cars in the UK and was aimed at addressing consumer concerns about charging times.

The ASA said complainants of the ad believe that charging electric cars across the UK and Northern Ireland may have significant limitations in achieving the advertised charge level requirement.

Both manufacturers say the ad is designed to inform customers about electric vehicles and to support concerns about charging times affecting longer journeys.

Toyota claims, based on the bZ4x’s maximum charging speed, it can continuously reach 80% charge in “about 30 minutes” when using the 150kW fast charging system.

The brand also said it used “cautious” language when claiming to charge the battery, using “approximately 30 minutes” to advertise charging time.

It also states that ASA’s charging times may under certain circumstances differ from those stated on its website.

In January 2022, Hyundai ran a campaign for its Ioniq 5 model on a digital billboard, video and marketing material, which claimed that the electric vehicle was capable of charging from “10” % to 80% in 18 minutes using [a] 350kW charger”.

It also defended its campaign, saying it was important that manufacturers could advertise charging times for customers to compare a variety of electric vehicles.

Hyundai has provided ASA with in-house factory testing of both Ioniq 5 battery options (72.6kWh and 58kWh – the latter not offered in Australia).

According to the test results, Hyundai claims the Ioniq 5 can achieve a charge time from 10% to 80% in 17 minutes and 16 seconds using a 350kW DC charger, at battery temperatures of 22 and 25 degrees.

Hyundai claimed the charge time results were accurate and proven, however, the brand later admitted to promoting that claim in a YouTube video showing real-world conditions. not the factory condition was a “surveillance” and the video has been removed.

The brand has accepted that there are a large number of variables that can affect charging time for an EV including battery temperature, ambient temperature, age and condition of the battery – and acknowledges that actual results for may be different for each driver.

Based on the report from the ASA, both Hyundai and Toyota also claimed that customers would know in order to achieve the charging claim they would have to use an ultra-fast charger – this was later found to be untrue by the ASA. .

Hyundai told the ASA it understands drivers won’t often have access to these chargers unless traveling away from home, and acknowledges that most customers will opt for slower charging at home.

According to the Charge myHyundai website, there are 37 350 kW ultra-fast charging locations in the UK and six in the Republic of Ireland at the time of the advertisement.

Toyota claims Zap Map showing 419 charging points at 134 locations in the UK, 30 in Scotland and 9 in Wales can support the maximum charging speed for its bZ4x at the time of the advertisement.

The ASA found that neither brand provided customers with any contextual information on how they could realistically achieve these charging claims and ruled that the advertising was unsubstantiated and factual. is misleading.

Both manufacturers are required to remove the ads and to ensure their future ads don’t mislead customers about battery charge times.

THAN: Everything Toyota bZ4X
THAN: Everything Hyundai Ioniq 5