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The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has cracked down on Nishat Hyundai Motors, slapping the auto giant with a Rs 25 million penalty for deceptive marketing tactics during the much-hyped 2020 launch of its Hyundai Tucson SUV.
The CCP launched an investigation after Hyundai’s big Facebook Live event where it introduced the Tucson with “introductory prices” Rs 4,899,000 for the GLS/FWD model and Rs 5,399,000 for the ULTIMATE/AWD model.
However, the Commission found that the special prices were only valid for less than 24 hours, and the disclaimer “for a limited time only” was printed in very small, hard-to-read text. Right after the short booking window, Hyundai increased the prices by Rs 200,000 and removed all mentions of the original prices from their website and social media pages.
The CCP ruled that this marketing strategy was misleading and unfair, saying Hyundai didn’t clearly explain the terms of the offer and created confusion among customers. They called it a case of “bait advertising”, where consumers are attracted with a low price that disappears almost immediately.
The Commission also pointed out that Hyundai follows better marketing practices in other countries, and Pakistani consumers deserve the same standards.
This fine is a clear warning to companies’ honest advertising matters and misleading the public comes with consequences.
