Though the sibling automakers say they’re taking corrective actions to get homeowners’ autos mounted, the drumbeat is getting louder.
This month, California Legal professional Basic Rob Bonta and a coalition of 17 different AGs, together with Minnesota’s Keith Ellison and Michigan’s Dana Nessel, despatched a letter to the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration requesting the company “institute a recall of unsafe Hyundai and Kia autos … whose easily-bypassed ignition switches and lack of engine immobilizers make them notably weak to theft.”
The plea was backed by theft information that exhibits an 85 p.c rise in thefts of Hyundais and Kias in Los Angeles in 2022. These autos made up 20 p.c of all stolen vehicles within the metropolis in 2022 in contrast with 13 p.c in 2021. In Berkeley, thefts of Hyundais and Kias accounted for 38 p.c of car thefts for the reason that finish of 2022.
Bonta’s letter additionally mentioned autos with out immobilizers characterize an “unreasonable danger to public security” and are taking a toll on native legislation enforcement and first responders.
Ellison, who in March introduced an investigation into Hyundai’s and Kia’s sale of the affected autos to shoppers in that state, mentioned the stolen autos have been used within the “furtherance” of violent crimes, together with 5 homicides, 13 shootings, 36 robberies and 265 motorized vehicle accidents in Minneapolis alone.
A Kia spokesperson mentioned in a press release that the corporate stays targeted on this challenge and continues to take motion to deal with the considerations raised by the attorneys normal.
Earlier this yr, town of Seattle, in Cantwell’s dwelling state, individually filed a swimsuit in opposition to Hyundai and Kia in U.S. District Courtroom in Seattle, citing a 363 p.c rise in thefts of Hyundai autos and 503 p.c improve in stolen Kias in 2022 in contrast with the earlier yr.
Eight different cities have taken the identical step, together with San Diego and Columbus, Ohio. All level to an excessive surge in theft of the affected autos.