Adverts from Toyota and Hyundai for electric vehicles have been banned by the UK’s watchdog after it found evidence of “misleading” claims.

The ASA said both brands had “exaggerated” the speed of recharging

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said both brands had “exaggerated” the speed of recharging and hadn’t also made clear that availability of the fastest EV chargers is currently limited in the UK.

In the case of Toyota, the ruling relates to a claim made on its website in March 2022 that its bZ4X model could reach 80% charge in around 30 minutes with a 150kW fast-charging system.

The complainant said there were “significant limitations” to achieving the advertised charging rate and that the claim was misleading.

Toyota said the ad explicitly stated the claim related to using a 150kW fast charging system, and it had used conservative, rather than absolute language when stating it would achieve a 80% charge “in around 30 minutes”. It added that the claim was caveated, with a prominent footnote informing consumers that the charging times were subject to local circumstance and that rapid charging power ratings could vary by location.

The carmaker also said it understood that 150kW+ chargers were available in multiple locations across the UK and availability was increasing. But it noted that there were currently no charging units offering a 150kW+ power rating in Northern Ireland and said it would make this clear when using claims similar claims in future.

However, the ASA said the ad omitted material information about the factors that could significantly affect the advertised charging time and the limitations in relation to the availability of 150kW chargers in Northern Ireland and across the UK. This meant Toyota’s claim “had not been substantiated and was misleading”.

The Hyundai ruling meanwhile relates to three ads for its Ioniq 5 EV, seen in January 2022 and all relating to claims that it could complete a 10% to 80% charge in 18 minutes using a 350kW charger.

In this case, there were multiple complainants who said there were significant limitations to achieving the advertised charging rate including low temperature, challenged whether the claim could be substantiated and said it was misleading.

Hyundai provided the ASA with results of its internal factory testing of the charging times, which showed a testing time of 17 minutes and 16 seconds to charge the battery from 10% to 80% when using a 350kW ultra-fast charger, and with the battery at temperatures of 22 and 25 degrees centigrade. The Korean brand said it was confident its claim was accurate and substantiated.

But the carmaker 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.

The ASA said that it considered that consumers would believe the car could always be charged in this time, but that if any factors were “less than optimal” charge times would take longer – which should have been qualified in the advert.

The watchdog also said that the lack of availability of 350kW chargers was another limitation that was likely to affect whether consumers were able to achieve the claimed charging time. And the ASA added that the average consumer “may not have an awareness of the speed or availability of a 350kW charger in comparison to other chargers”.

Both carmakers have been told not “mislead about battery charging times” nor to use the adverts again in the forms complained of.