State Attorney Generals Putting Pressure On Kia And Hyundai To Fix Theft Problem

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul is leading a coalition of 23 attorney generals to make Kia and Hyundai car companies step up and equip their vehicles that are known to be prone to theft, with anti-theft immobilizers.

Kaul and the other attorney generals are asking Kia and Hyundai to take action to help remedy the crisis of car thefts that have occurred as a result of the lack of anti-theft devices.

Because of the ease in stealing them, Kia and Hyundai models are frequently targeted by car thieves.

In 2021, there were 6,970 Kia and Hyundai vehicles reported stolen in Milwaukee. While the thefts slightly declined in 2022, there were still an average of six of the
cars being stolen every day.

Thefts of the cars in Minneapolis increased by 836% in 2022 over the previous year. From 2021 to 2022, St. Louis County saw a 1,090% increase in thefts of Kias and Hyundais.

Kia and Hyundai recently announced a campaign to provide software upgrades for some of the affected vehicle models, but the attorney generals say its long overdue and still not enough.