News/Commentary

Chicago SUES automakers over increase in car theft: ‘Imagine this being your solution’

August 25, 2023 | | Print Article

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is suing South Korean automakers, blaming them for skyrocketing car thefts in the Windy City.

(Video Credit: WGN News)

Chicago follows New York City and Milwaukee, Wisconsin which have sued car manufacturers using the same progressive logic. The mayor and the city unbelievably contend the failure to install the anti-theft devices is behind a steep rise in vehicle thefts and other crimes in Chicago.

“The lawsuit noted that engine immobilizers, a security technology that requires a key with a special chip to send an encrypted signal to start the car, are standard in most U.S.-sold cars, but are absent in many Kia and Hyundai cars sold in the U.S.,” Forbes reported.

The lawsuit alleges that not having the devices on board has “caused a car theft crisis” in Chicago and pointed out that in 2022, there were more than 8,800 Kia and Hyundai vehicles stolen in the Illinois city alone, accounting for 41% of the car thefts there just in 2022.  That percentage was despite Kia and Hyundai vehicles only making up 7% of cars sold in the city.

Johnson called the automakers’ failure to include immobilizers “sheer negligence” and declared that it “disproportionately impacts low-income Chicago residents,” claiming that “offenders have used stolen Kia and Hyundai vehicles to commit other crimes, including reckless driving, armed robbery, and murder.”

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“A citywide and nationwide crime spree around automobile theft has been unfolding right before our eyes,” Johnson, who’s been in power for just over 100 days, said in a statement.

“Chicago is bearing the cost of Defendants’ unlawful conduct, as it pays for property damage, diverts law enforcement resources, and strives to keep the public safe from harm Defendants could have prevented,” Corporation Counsel Mary Richardson-Lowry proclaimed in a statement.

The lawsuit was filed in Illinois state court. It is asking that fines be imposed on Kia and Hyundai and that they be forced to pay damages to the city. It calls for the court to issue an injunction to prevent advertising the cars as having top safety features. The city also wants a high-profile jury trial for the case.

The Associated Press reported that in early 2021, videos began popping up on social media, especially TikTok, showing how to hot-wire certain models of Kia and Hyundai vehicles using a USB cable and a screwdriver. The trick is allegedly made possible by the cars’ lack of immobilizers.

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In February, the companies released a software update that rectified the glitch that makes this type of hotwiring possible, but thefts of the vehicles still increased after the updates, according to the Associated Press.

“From January to May 2023, police in Minneapolis, Minnesota, received 1,899 theft reports involving Hyundai or Kia vehicles, which is almost 18 times the number for the same period in 2022,” Forbes noted, citing AP.

“In New York City, police reported 966 Hyundai and Kia thefts from January through April, 2023, almost seven times the number reported in the same period of 2022,” the outlet added.

“A group of state attorneys general, led by Rob Bonta (D-Calif.), wrote to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in April asking that the cars be recalled and retrofitted with immobilizers, but the agency ultimately decided the situation didn’t meet the criteria to require such steps,” Forbes noted.

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“Unlike the movies, hot-wiring vehicles is far harder than it appears—unless that vehicle was manufactured by Hyundai or Kia,” Chicago wrote in its filed complaint.

Hyundai said in a statement that it’s “committed” to helping customers and communities affected by the theft of vehicles not equipped with push-button ignitions and engine immobilizers. Engine immobilizers, meanwhile, are now standard on all Hyundai vehicles produced since November 2021.

Johnson and the Windy City were mocked for the move:

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