South Korean automotive giant, Hyundai and Kia have agreed to pay a total of US$395 million more than 90,000 customers in the US after it emerged that the company misled them about fuel efficiency of their cars.

The two carmakers said that they have now reached a settlement in a class-action lawsuit covering a total of 53 cases for misleading the customers about the fuel economy of their models in the Los Angeles federal court. Under the settlement, the plaintiffs who acquired 13 Hyundai or Kia models from 2011 to 2013 will receive an average of US$439 per person.

The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency had said that the many companies had overstated the fuel efficiency of their models by 1 to 2 miles per gallon mainly due to an error in the measuring method. Hyundai and Kia have acknowledged the problem but have blamed the procedural error. Since the error was detected the companies have been compensating owners with payments of around $88 annually but have now offered an option of a lump-sum payment.

Under the agreement, Hyundai would pay up to $210 million and Kia up to $185 million to the customers.