Kia and Hyundai to Pay $200 Million to Settle Suit Over Car Thefts
Kia and Hyundai have agreed to pay about $200 million to settle a class-action lawsuit accusing the manufacturers of producing vehicles that have been especially vulnerable to theft, lawyers for the car owners and the manufacturers said on Thursday.
The settlement, which affects the owners of about nine million vehicles, came as the nation contends with a surge in auto thefts fueled in part by videos on TikTok and YouTube that demonstrate the ease in which Kia and Hyundai vehicles can be stolen.
Lawyers representing affected vehicle owners said in a news release that the automakers failed to equip several models from 2011 through 2022 with an immobilizer, a common anti-theft device that “prevents most vehicles from being started unless a code is transmitted from the vehicle’s smart key.”
Source: The New York Times
