Hyundai is sued in NY for having cars that are easy to steal – 06/07/2023 – Market

New York City sued Hyundai and Kia on Tuesday, accusing the South Korean automakers of negligence and public nuisance by selling vehicles that are too easy to steal.

In a complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan, New York blamed automakers’ failure from 2011 to 2022 to install anti-theft devices called immobilizers in most of their cars, making them “almost unique” among automakers.

The county said the problem “has opened the floodgates for vehicle theft, crime sprees, reckless driving and public harm”, heightened by TikTok videos showing how to steal cars that lack push-button ignition and immobilizers.

The city said the number of stolen Hyundais and Kias had doubled in the past year, followed by a “virtual theft explosion” in the first four months of 2023, with 977 reported thefts, up from 148 in the same period in 2022.

In contrast, thefts of BMW, Ford, Honda, Mercedes, Nissan and Toyota vehicles have fallen this year, he said.

The claim seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

Hyundai said in a statement that it made immobilizers standard on all vehicles in November 2021 and had taken steps, including a software update, to reduce the threat of thefts.

Kia also cited anti-theft efforts and said it is working with NYPD to combat car thefts. The company also called the city’s lawsuit “meritless.”

In February, automakers said they will offer software updates for up to 8.3 million US vehicles that don’t have immobilizers.

Last month, Hyundai and Kia settled for $200 million in a class-action consumer lawsuit over the thefts.

The case covered nearly nine million US vehicle owners and included up to $145 million to cover losses from stolen vehicles, attorneys for the owners said.