New York City Sues Kia and Hyundai Over a TikTok Trend
Source: WION

New York City is joining a list of cities suing manufacturers of Kia and Hyundai vehicles following a viral TikTok trend demonstrating how easy it is to steal certain models of the vehicles.

Kia and Hyundai Thefts Up 660% in the First Four Months of 2023

According to a court filing with the Southern District of New York, city prosecutors are suing Kia and Hyundai vehicle makers for gross negligence and creating a public nuisance due to the high susceptibility of their vehicles to theft.

Providing context, New York City prosecutors have revealed that there had been a 660% increase in Kia and Hyundai car thefts in the first four months of 2023, following a TikTok car theft trend.

According to NYC, the responsibility for this issue lies with both automakers after they failed to install reasonable anti-theft technology and engine immobilizers.

Kia and Hyundai owners have reported their vehicles missing from parking lots and driveways.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that approximately 8.3 million Kia and Hyundai vehicles built between 2011 and 2022 were the target of these thefts, following videos on YouTube and TikTok showing how they can be stolen using a screwdriver and a USB cord.

Once stolen, the vehicles are often used for joyrides and some are even stripped for parts and sold on the black market.

Although YouTube and TikTok have removed these videos from their platforms, the damage has been done.

NYC prosecutors state that approximately 977 Hyundai and Kia vehicles were stolen, accounting for 19.3% of all reported vehicle thefts.

Of the lot, both vehicles represented about 2.9% of registered stolen cars in the Big Apple.

As a result, Kia and Hyundai owners launched a $200 million class action lawsuit against both automakers, who have agreed to pay for the damages.

Both Asian automakers have since said they have launched free software to fix the issue and provided steering wheel locks to the affected vehicles.

Despite this, NYC is demanding that both automakers pay punitive and compensatory damages for the inconvenience the issue has caused to the state’s police resources.

However, some NYC residents are skeptical of the state’s decision, believing that ineffective policing policies are the root cause of the problem.

Europe and Canadian Markets Have No Such Issues

Hyundai and Kia have a strong market presence in the European and Canadian markets.

In a 2022 press release, Kia announced a 20.6% increase in its market share for the European market.

The company said it could sell about 45% of its electrified vehicles in the Euro bloc within the stated period.

New York City Sues Kia and Hyundai Over a TikTok Trend
Source: Hometown Station

These companies’ strong presence is due to their adherence to all vehicular regulatory statutes in the continent, as pointed out by NYC prosecutors.

According to the US city, Kia and Hyundai vehicles in Europe and Canada have the necessary anti-theft technology in all the vehicles produced within the stated time frame.

They pointed out that this is due to the express requirement by European automobile regulatory authorities, although the stipulation is not overtly stated in the American continent.

This technology, an engine immobilizer, is considered a basic security feature and was installed in even lower-priced Hyundai models in foreign markets.

However, in the US, this technology only began to roll out in 2015.

About 96% of other manufacturers’ vehicles had them in 2015, compared to only 26% of Kia and Hyundai cars. These cost-saving tactics have now come back to bite the Asian auto giants.

Besides New York, cities like Cleveland, St.Louis, Seattle, Atlanta, and Grand Rapids have witnessed a high rise in car thefts following the viral TikTok trend.

As a result, many of these cities have filed lawsuits against the automakers.

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