Hyundai pleads guilty to six different criminal charges

Automaker Hyundai has pleaded guilty to six felony counts of violating the Motor Vehicle Safety Act and will be fined $360,000.

The six counts relate to safety defect notices that Hyundai allegedly failed to send within 60 days, as required by law, according to a statement released Tuesday by Transport Canada.

However, the company did send out the reminders, albeit not on time, in 2020 and 2021.

“It is concerning that Hyundai failed to notify vehicle owners on six different occasions of the recall in a timely manner, which is why Transport Canada has brought criminal charges against the company,” said Federal Minister on Transportation Omar Al-Ghabra.

With Hyundai’s guilty plea and fine, Transport Canada now considers this matter settled. The department will continue to closely monitor Hyundai’s compliance with Transport Canada’s requirements.

Hyundai Canada responded by ensuring that customer safety comes first, that all customers affected by the recalls were contacted and that no incidents were reported.

“Hyundai Canada understands that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the company did not always meet the specific timing requirements set out in applicable regulations in a limited number of cases. However, we promptly rectified the situation and took responsibility.”