Toyota BZ4X. Source: Toyota
UK’s advertising watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), has banned advertising campaigns from Toyota and Hyundai, accusing the car giants of misleading consumers about their electric vehicle charging speeds and the availability of rapid-charging points.
According to a ruling published by the ASA on Wednesday, Toyota’s UK website www.toyota.co.uk featured a page about its bZ4X electric vehicle which included text saying:
“Making electric easy. …Three charging options offer flexibility – use rapid public charging to reach 80% charge in around 30 minutes* with a 150 kW fast-charging system, charge through a fast charging wallbox which can be installed at home, or plug into a socket at home”.
The ASA’s ruling went on to say that the *asterisk linked to text further down the page which stated, “*Charging times subject to local circumstance. Rapid charging power ratings can vary by location.”
The ASA received a complaint about Toyota’s claim that stated there were “significant limitations” to achieving the advertised charging rate. The complainant challenged whether the claims “use rapid pubic charging to reach 80% charge in around 30 minutes with a 150kW fast-charging system”, was misleading and could be substantiated.
The complaint was made regarding information on the website in March, 2022. However the ruling has just been made this week. A quick check of the website shows that the specific charging claims have now been removed.
Toyota UK Electric Vehicle claims. Source: Toyota UK
In its assessment of the complaint the ASA said:
The ASA said that consumers would likely interpret the ad to mean that the Toyota bZ4X would always achieve a battery charge from 0% to 80% in around 30 minutes when using a 150 kW charger.
“We noted that the claim was linked to text further down the page that stated, “Charging times subject to local circumstance”,” it noted. “However, we considered it was unclear what “local circumstance” meant and how it was likely to impact on battery charging times.”
The ASA said it acknowledged evidence provided by Toyota that showed that, under standardised testing conditions (with a new battery and in a temperature-controlled environment with an ambient temperature of around 25 degrees centigrade) the battery could be charged from 0% to 80% in 30 minutes and 13 seconds using a 150 kW charger.
“However, we understood that various real-world factors such as battery temperature, ambient temperature and age and condition of the battery, might affect the time it would take for a battery to charge to 80%.
“If any of those conditions were less than optimal, then charging times would likely take longer than 30 minutes.” said the ASA in its ruling.
Hyundai also ruled to have misled customers
On the same day it published its ruling against Toyota, the ASA published another ruling against Hyundai with similar findings.
The complains against Hyundai concern three ads for Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 model from January, 2022, including a digital billboard displayed in Piccadilly Circus, London, a YouTube video and a marketing brochure on Hyundai’s website all with the claim that the Ioniq 5 charges from 10% to 80% in 18 minutes when connected to a 350kW charger.
“We concluded that because the ads omitted material information about the factors that could significantly affect the advertised charging time and the limitations in relation to the availability of 350 kW chargers,” it said.
“The claims that the Hyundai Ioniq 5 could charge from 10% to 80% charge “in 18 minutes” (ads (a) and (b)) or “less than 18 minutes” using a 350 kW charger (ad (c)) had not been substantiated and were misleading.”
Toyota facing greenwashing claims
In March Toyota was referred to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) for allegedly making misleading claims regarding the environmental performance of its vehicles and net zero ambitions. If the ACCC rules in favour of the complainant, Toyota could face fines of up to $50 million.
“We believe Toyota Motor Corporation’s advertising is misleading Australian consumers by understating its cars’ emissions and overstating its commitment to clean transport,” said Greenpeace Australia Pacific’s electrify campaign director Lindsay Soutar at the time.
“Toyota Motor Corporation makes claims in its advertising that give the false impression the company is leading the transition to clean cars, but the truth is Toyota is not leading the transition but is acting globally to block the take-up of electric vehicles.
“All companies have a duty to tell the truth about their products. That standard must apply especially to a company like Toyota, which is Australia’s largest and until now most-trusted car maker.” she said. “There needs to be a level playing field so that consumers can make informed choices about how to use their purchases to protect the environment.”
Some also believe that Toyota’s “self-charging” hybrids are also misleading.
“And yet Toyota is still allowed to run their BS “self charging hybrid” ads” said one commenter on twitter.
And yet Toyota is still allowed to run their BS “self charging hybrid” ads 🤔
— Joshua Lewis (@jaylew333) June 28, 2023
A report published in May also found that major car brands including Toyota and BMW are spending $4.5 billion in sports advertising to help greenwash their image despite lobbying against strong climate action at the same time.
The report, titled
Dangerous Driving: why sport should drop sponsorship from major polluters,
analyses why petrol and diesel car makers have more than tripled their sports sponsorship in the last five years. The report says that sport has become a primary way for global car makers to promote their “green” credentials, even when they are not so green. The report found that Toyota and BMW have over 120 active partnerships and sponsorships across at least 23 different sports with many of the deals centred around their sustainability claims. Many countries around the world are now looking to crack down on greenwashing with some like France banning fossil fuel advertising altogether.
Keyword: UK watchdog says Toyota and Hyundai EV charging speed claims are “misleading”