In a recent development, New York City has taken legal action against Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Corp, two major South Korean automakers.
The megacity has accused them of negligence and creating a public nuisance by dealing vehicles that are largely susceptible to theft. This action follows analogous legal conduct taken by other major metropolises, including Baltimore, Cleveland, Milwaukee, San Diego, and Seattle. New York City has filed a complaint in the Manhattan civil court, pressing the automakers’ failure to installanti-theft bias called immobilizers on their vehicles between 2011 and 2022.
This elision has made their buses ” nearly unique” among other machine manufacturers. As a result, the megacity claims that a sluice of vehicle thefts, crime sprees, reckless driving, and public detriment has been opened, further fueled by educational TikTok vids on how to steal buses lacking drive- button ignitions and immobilizers.
Statistics handed by the megacity indicate a worrying trend. The number of reported stolen Hyundais and Kias doubled last time, with a significant swell of thefts recorded in the first four months of 2023. Surprisingly, there were 977 reported thefts during this period, compared to 148 in the same timeframe of 2022.
On the other hand, thefts of BMW, Ford, Honda, Mercedes, Nissan, and Toyota vehicles have shown a decline this time.
In response to the action, Hyundai has defended its position, asserting that it made immobilizers a standard point on all vehicles as of November 2021. The company has also enforced a software upgrade to alleviate the trouble of thefts. also, Kia has stated that it’s laboriously working with law enforcement agencies in New York City to combat auto thefts and has taken measures to address the issue.
Kia has dismissed the action as” without merit.” specially, in February, Hyundai and Kia reached a$ 200 million agreement for a consumer class action related to the thefts. This agreement covered roughly 9 million vehicle possessors in the United States, with a substantial portion allocated to cover losses incurred from stolen vehicles.
The action filed by New York City seeks unidentified compensatory and corrective damages. The case, officially known as City of New York v Hyundai Motor America et al, is presently being heard in theU.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, with the case number 23- 04772.