Ad description
Three ads for Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 model, an electric vehicle, seen in January 2022:
a. A digital billboard, displayed in Piccadilly Circus, London, featured text that stated, “10% to 80% charge in 18 minutes using 350kw charger”.
b. A video on the advertiser’s YouTube account titled “Battle of the Bridge / Youth vs Experience vs IONIQ 5 / Who will prove faster?” and featured footballers from Chelsea FC, a brand partner of Hyundai, undertaking a series of challenges. Audio and text on-screen stated, “Both teams must complete the challenges within 18 minutes. That’s the time that it takes the IONIQ 5 to charge from 10-80%”.
c. A marketing brochure on the advertiser's website www.hyundai.co.uk, stated, “IONIQ 5 charges from 10% to 80% in less than 18 minutes when connected to a 350 kw ultra-fast charger”. Text further down the page stated, “Take charge with even more flexible charging solutions with IONIQ 5. Depending on your grid connection at home or the type of charging station you have access to, IONIQ 5 gives you a range of flexible charging possibilities aside from ultra-fast DC charging. Most of your charging will happen overnight at home, and you can schedule charging to take advantage of off-peak rates. But you can also top up whilst you’re out and about at the supermarket, the gym, the cafe, or many other convenient locations. When you travel further afield you can make the most of the growing high voltage networks such as IONITY, GridServe Electric Highway, InstaVolt and BP Pulse to provide a quick boost to your range".
Issue
The complainants, who believed that there were significant limitations to achieving the advertised charging rate including low temperature, challenged whether the claim the vehicle could charge from 10% to 80% in 18 minutes using a 350 kW charger, could be substantiated and was misleading.Response
Hyundai said they were investing heavily in the development and promotion of electric vehicles to encourage take-up among UK consumers. The transition to electric vehicles was fundamental to the UK's hopes of achieving its net zero targets. They said barriers still existed and they were aware that concerns around charge time were an important factor to consumers. They said the ads were looking to inform consumers about a fundamental feature of electric vehicles in general, making use of key performance data relating to the IONIQ 5 model specifically. They said this was intended to help address consumer concerns about charge times affecting longer journeys.
Hyundai said they considered that it was essential that manufacturers were able to promote charge times in connection with electric vehicles so that consumers could compare different electric vehicles and to address key barriers to electric vehicle take-up, such as range and charging anxiety and a lack of awareness of the rollout of charging infrastructure.
They provided the ASA with results of their internal factory testing of the charging times for both IONIQ 5 battery options (72.6 kWh and 58 kWh). They stated that testing established a time of 17 minutes and 16 seconds to charge the battery from 10% to 80% when using a 350 kW ultra-fast charger, and with the battery at temperatures of 22 and 25 degrees centigrade. They expressed that as 18 minutes for the purposes of the claims in the ads, to take a conservative approach. They were confident that claim of a 10-80% charge in 18 minutes using a 350 kW charger, was accurate and substantiated. They also provided information from YouTube reviewers, which showed the reviewers achieving a battery charge time of around 18 minutes in a real-world environment. They believed these provided anecdotal support for the internal factory testing.
In relation to ad (b) they said that due to an oversight, the references to ultra-fast charging were omitted from the YouTube film. They said they had now removed the relevant YouTube film from Hyundai channels and worked to ensure that Chelsea FC did the same. They said they had no plans to republish these films in the future.
Hyundai accepted that there were a large number of variables which could influence the charge time for an electric vehicle battery, including battery temperature, ambient temperature and the age and condition of the battery, and that actual results for individual drivers may therefore vary.
They said that while it was correct to say that their claims were substantiated based on testing conducted with the battery at a temperature of 22 and 25 degrees centigrade, it was wrong to infer that this meant that the ambient temperature must also be 22 or 25 degrees centigrade. They said that the battery temperature was likely to be above the ambient temperature when the car was in use, and by an even greater amount during heavy acceleration or higher speeds. They said a driver using a public charging station was unlikely to have a battery that was 'cold' at ambient temperature because they would have driven the car to get to the charging station and likely have driven their car at higher speeds on a motorway or major arterial road because that was where most ultra-fast chargers were located.
Hyundai said that one of the three trim lines for the IONIQ 5 model was available with an Eco Pack option which also included a battery heater, designed to help the battery achieve an optimal temperature for charging. They confirmed that as of 26 April 2022 the battery heater feature became standard for all trim lines.Hyundai believed that the average consumer, particularly one contemplating an electric vehicle purchase, would be aware that "ultra-fast" 350 kW charging indicated a higher speed charger that was different from fast, standard or slow charging. They said consumers would be aware that not all charging units were ultra-fast/350 kW and therefore that it would be necessary to travel to access the "ultra-fast" charging infrastructure. They said drivers would typically charge the batteries of their electric vehicles at home, as referred to in ad (c) and the primary occasion when drivers might require ultra-fast charging was likely to be when they were in transit on longer journeys, due to them not wanting to spend significant time at service stations waiting for the battery to charge, before resuming their journey.
Hyundai said that ultra-fast chargers were already available across most of the UK on motorways and major arterial roads, which they believed was where customers needed them. They said the Charge myHyundai website showed 37 ultra-fast 350 kW charging locations in the UK and six ultra-fast 350 kW charging locations in the Republic of Ireland at the time of the ad.Hyundai said that, at the time, a fully charged IONIQ5 would provide between 238 and 298 miles of range depending on the battery size. They said ultra-fast charging was far less likely to be needed by drivers embarking on short journeys in urban or extra-urban locations and that it would be more convenient and cheaper for those drivers to charge at home, at work or with other less powerfulpublic chargers.
They said the context for ultra-fast charging was made in ad (c) where the claim was set alongside copy which specifically referred to travelling further afield and the growing number of high voltage networks; and contrasted ultra-fast charging with fast charging at a 50 kW DC station. Hyundai said they were confident that the average consumer would not be misled by charging claims which related to the use of ultra-fast/350 kW charging infrastructure.
They said they would be willing to amend the claims that were subject to the complaint to make clear that charging time could vary from 18 to 36 minutes and was dependent on being connected to an ultra fast 350 kW charger. They would also qualify the claim to state that charging times would increase at lower battery temperatures, and that charge times were dependant on a number of factors including battery temperature, condition and age, ambient temperature and the power provided by the charger. They also proposed to include text informing consumers that ultra-fast 350 kW chargers were currently available on selected motorways/major arterial routes, excluding Northern Ireland.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA considered that consumers would interpret the claims “10% to 80% charge in 18 minutes using 350kw charger” in ad (a) and “charges from 10% to 80% in less than 18 minutes when connected to a 350 kw ultra-fast charger” in ad (c), to mean that the Hyundai IONIQ 5 would always achieve a battery charge from 10% to 80% in around 18 minutes or less when using a 350 kW charger. In the absence of any charger being specified in ad (b) we considered that the ad would give consumers the impression that this charge-rate could be achieved with any compatible charger. We understood from Hyundai that the information in ad (b) had been omitted in error and we welcomed their assurance that they had since removed the ad.
We acknowledged that the evidence provided by Hyundai showed that, under standardised testing conditions (with a new battery and in a temperature-controlled environment with ambient temperatures of 22 and 25 degrees centigrade) the battery could be charged from 10% to 80% in under 18 minutes using a 350 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 18 minutes. We understood that at the time of the ads, only one of the three available trim lines of the car had technology that was designed to maintain battery temperature at the most efficient level during vehicle usage and charging, which helped to support the battery charge time in varying weather conditions. However, we understood that battery temperature was one of several factors that could influence charging time. We would therefore expect Hyundai to qualify the charging claim with an explanation of the conditions under which the figures were achieved and that they may not reflect actual consumer experience.
We considered that a further limitation that was likely to affect whether consumers were able to achieve the claimed charging time was the availability of 350 kW chargers. We considered that the average consumer may not have an awareness of the speed or availability of a 350 kW charger in comparison to other chargers, although we acknowledged that consumers interested in purchasing an electric vehicle would be likely to have some awareness that they may need to travel to access the network of ultra-fast charging points.
We considered that ads (a) and (b) did not provide consumers with any contextual information regarding how the charging speed of a 350 kW charger differed from other charging options. In the absence of any specific limitations in those ads stating otherwise, we considered that the average consumer was likely to form the impression that it was relatively straightforward to access 350 kW chargers throughout the UK in public places. We noted that ad (c) included the description of 350 kW as an “ultra-fast charger” and provided information about alternative charging solutions which would have provided consumers with some context as to its comparable speed to other chargers. We understood from the Charge myHyundai website that, in April 2022, there were 37 ultra-fast 350 kW charging locations in Great Britain, six in the Republic of Ireland, limited numbers in Wales and Scotland and none in Northern Ireland.
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, 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.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1, 3.3 (Misleading advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation) and 3.9 (Qualification).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Hyundai to ensure their ads did not mislead about battery charging times.
