SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s antitrust regulator is investigating U.S. electric car maker Tesla Inc over allegations the company exaggerated the specifications of its batteries, an official at the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) said on Tuesday.
Yonhap news agency on late Monday reported the KFTC had sent a report to the electric vehicle (EV) maker stating that it had exaggerated the mileage of some of its models, including Model 3, in violation of the Act on Fair Labeling and Advertising.
“We plan to hold a meeting to decide the level of sanctions against the automaker,” an official at the KFTC told Reuters.
Tesla, on its website, says its Model 3 can travel 528 km (328 miles) on a single charge. The KFTC says however that the range may fall short of that should the temperature drop below freezing.
Analysts said most electric vehicles could generally experience some loss of driving range in cold weather.
Tesla was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Reuters.
($1 = 1,198.3100 won)
(Reporting by Joori Roh, Heekyong Yang; Editing by Stephen Coates)