The thefts of vehicles made by South Korean automaker Hyundai and its Kia subsidiary have surged more than tenfold after a viral social media challenge exposed their vulnerabilities, according to new data.
The latest update provided to FOX Business from the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), which tracks auto thefts using insurance claims, indicates thefts of Hyundai and Kia models were up more than 1,000% in the first half of 2023 compared to the first half of 2020.
HLDI said that prior to 2020, Hyundai and Kia vehicles were stolen at around the same rate as other makes, but theft claims for the South Korean vehicles were seven times higher than other makes in the first half of 2023.
In the most recent period studied, Hyundai and Kia vehicles were stolen at a rate of 11.2 per 1,000 insured vehicles, while claim rates for all other makes on average have only risen slightly to 1.6 per 1,000, the data showed.
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The numbers show vandalism claims for Hyundai and Kia cars are also markedly higher than for other vehicles, which HLDI says is likely due to failed theft attempts. Vandalism claims for the vehicles were four times higher in the first part of 2023 than three years earlier, and were three times higher than for other makes last year.
Vehicle thefts surged across the board during the pandemic, but Hyundais and Kias became easy targets for criminals after a challenge posted on TikTok and other social media platforms in 2021 revealed several models from the sister brands built from 2011 to 2021 did not have immobilizers to prevent them from being started without a key present.
The surge in thefts led several U.S. cities to sue Hyundai and Kia for not doing enough to prevent their cars from being stolen, and therefore placing an additional burden on law enforcement. Major insurers State Farm and Progressive announced in Jan. 2023 they would no longer cover some Kia and Hyundai models manufactured between 2015-2019 due to the thefts.
Early last year, the manufacturers began rolling out new anti-theft software upgrades for several models, covering millions of vehicles. Both companies provided updates to their efforts when contacted by FOX Business for comment on Monday.
"Hyundai is committed to the comprehensive actions we are undertaking to assist customers and communities affected by the persistent theft of certain vehicles not equipped with push-button ignitions and engine immobilizers," Hyundai said in a statement.
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"Our dealers across the country are maximizing the number of anti-theft software installations that can be performed on a daily basis, contributing to steadily increasing completion rates, which we report to NHTSA [National Highway Traffic Safety Administration] weekly," the statement continued.
The Hyundai spokesperson said the automaker recently set up service centers in Washington, D.C., St. Louis County, Missouri, New York and other major cities with plans to add more in order to speed up the installation of the software upgrades.
Kia said in a statement that the company "continues to take significant steps to support our customers in response to criminals using methods of theft promoted and popularized on social media to steal or attempt to steal certain vehicle models."
The automaker said it has already installed its software upgrade in nearly one million vehicles so far, and released a new hardware modification in December — an ignition cylinder protector — for vehicles that are not eligible for the anti-theft software upgrade. Kia is also providing steering wheel locks at no charge to the owners of impacted vehicles.
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"Kia is committed to continuing to work with law enforcement agencies around the country to combat car theft and the role social media has played in encouraging it, and we remain committed to supporting our customers and to vehicle security," the statement added.
