The Competition Appellate Tribunal (CAT) has reduced the Hyundai Nishat penalty from Rs25 million to Rs5 million while upholding the Competition Commission of Pakistan’s (CCP) ruling in a deceptive marketing case linked to the 2020 launch of the Hyundai Tucson SUV.
The case dates back to August 2020, when Hyundai Nishat Motors held a Facebook Live event announcing “introductory prices” of Rs4,899,000 for the GLS/FWD variant and Rs5,399,000 for the ULTIMATE/AWD model of the Hyundai Tucson. However, the investigation revealed that these prices were valid for less than 24 hours and the limited-time disclaimer was not clearly communicated to potential buyers.
The CCP found that Hyundai Nishat increased the vehicle prices by Rs200,000 after the brief booking period and also removed the original pricing details from its website and social media platforms. According to the regulator, this amounted to “bait advertising” and violated Section 10 of the Competition Act, 2010.
The CCP issued its order in April 2025, imposing a penalty of Rs25 million on the company. Hyundai Nishat later challenged the decision before the Tribunal. After reviewing the case, the Tribunal agreed that the marketing practices were misleading but ruled to reduce the Hyundai Nishat penalty to Rs5 million.
The CCP also highlighted that Hyundai adopts more transparent advertising practices in other countries and emphasized that Pakistani consumers should be provided with the same standards of fair marketing.