St. Louis, a city in Missouri, USA, has joined several other major US cities in filing a lawsuit against Korean automakers Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp for failing to include anti-theft technology in millions of their vehicles. The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court in Missouri, following similar legal actions taken by other US cities, including San Diego, California; Cleveland, Ohio; Seattle; Columbus, Ohio; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The theft of Hyundai and Kia vehicles has significantly increased since a method of stealing them was popularised on TikTok and other social media channels.
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones said, ‘Big corporations like Kia and Hyundai must be held accountable for endangering our residents and putting profit over people.’ The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) Highway Loss Data Institute reported that by 2015, electronic immobilisers were standard on 96% of US vehicles, but only 26% of Hyundai and Kia vehicles in the 2015 model year. The lack of electronic immobilisers allowed thieves to break in and bypass the ignition.
Kia and Hyundai cars make up a significant proportion of stolen cars in the US, and last month, the automakers announced that they would offer software upgrades to 8.3 million US vehicles to address the issue. TikTok videos showing how to steal Kia and Hyundai cars without push-button ignitions and immobilising anti-theft devices have gone viral, leading to car thefts, at least 14 reported crashes, and eight fatalities, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in February.
Kia said the lawsuits ‘are without merit,’ but added that it was ‘willing to work cooperatively with law enforcement agencies in St. Louis to combat car theft and the role social media has played in encouraging it.’ Meanwhile, Hyundai stated that it had taken several actions ‘in response to increasing and persistent thefts targeting our vehicles without push-button ignitions and immobilizing anti-theft devices in the United States.’
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