Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

CTOnews.com, June 29 (Xinhua) according to the Guardian, the British advertising regulator (ASA) has imposed a ban on advertising campaigns by Toyota and Hyundai because they exaggerate the short charging time of their electric vehicles and mislead consumers by saying that charging piles are easy to find.

Toyota promotes its electric car bZ4X on its UK website, claiming that it can be recharged to 80 per cent of electricity in 30 minutes with 150kW DC fast charging and that drivers can "easily find fast charging piles in public places", especially where drivers need them most.

Similarly, Hyundai has promoted its electric car Ioniq 5 on its website, a YouTube video featuring Premiership Chelsea Football Club players and a digital billboard in Piccadilly Circus in London, claiming that the car uses a 350kW charger that can be charged from 10 to 80 per cent in 18 minutes.

However, ASA has received some complaints questioning the authenticity of the charge time claims, and both companies admit that the data were achieved under ideal conditions. In addition, the idea of direct current quick filling piles that are easy to find and use across the UK has also been questioned. Toyota is understood to have supported its statement on the availability of charging posts based on a service called Zap Map, which shows the location of charging posts, but does not filter out the exact location of 150kW chargers. Instead, it only shows that there are 419charging piles in the UK in 134locations, but only seven are in Scotland, two in Wales and none in Northern Ireland. As for Hyundai, its Charge myHyundai website shows that there are only 37 charging piles capable of providing 350kW charging power in the UK, six in the Republic of Ireland, a "limited number" in Wales and Scotland and none in Northern Ireland.

Both Toyota and Hyundai say their claims do not mislead consumers because drivers are less likely to need fast charging on short distances and can use more widely distributed slow charging piles. But this is not the focus of the advertising campaign, so the ASA ruled: "We believe that because the advertisement omits the factors that may significantly affect the advertised charging time and the restrictions related to the availability of charging posts... these claims have not been confirmed and are misleading."

According to CTOnews.com, this is the first time that the British ASA has imposed a ban on advertising of electric vehicles.

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