The city of New York has filed a lawsuit against the South Korean automakers as a result of a risky TikTok trend that resulted in the indiscriminate theft of cars in the US, mainly Hyundai and Kia car models. By selling too easily stolen cars, the city charged the automakers with negligence and caused a public nuisance. The automaker, according to New York, failed to install immobilizers on the majority of its vehicles between 20111 and 2022, making it simple to steal.
“In electing profits over safety and deviating from industry norms by not including engine immobilizers as a standard safety feature, Defendants created and maintained a public nuisance,” read the filing submitted to the US District Court in the Southern District of New York. “This case is a clear example of what happens to public safety when car manufacturers choose not to include standard anti-theft technology in their cars,” the filing added. “Making sure cars are not easy to steal protects both property and the public by keeping dangerous drivers in stolen vehicles off the roads,” it said.
After a TikTok challenge that involved targeting Kia and Hyundai vehicles, there has been an increase in thefts
Through the lawsuit, the City aims “to hold the two companies accountable”. It added that number of stolen Hyundai and Kia doubled last year, followed by an “explosion of thefts” in the first four months of 2023 with 977 reported thefts, compared to 148 in the same period last year. “This represents a roughly 660% increase in thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles as compared to those same months in 2022 when there were only 148 such thefts,” it said.
Notably, Hyundai is Kia’s parent firm, but the two businesses run independently. After a TikTok challenge that involved targeting Kia and Hyundai vehicles—which still use mechanical keys and not electronic systems—was made public last year, there has been an increase in thefts that have been reported. The lack of anti-theft safeguards left the cars more open to theft. The app users were encouraged by the challenge to exploit the situation and steal the cars with the fewest possible tools. The robbers used the hashtag “Kia Boys” to publish recordings of themselves robbing the automobiles on the ByteDance-owned platform. Along with other cities like Baltimore, Cleveland, Milwaukee, San Diego, and Seattle, New York City has filed a lawsuit against the South Korean automaker.