Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia agreed to settle a U.S. consumer class action lawsuit over their easily-stolen cars for $200M.
The settlement covers ~9 million U.S.-based owners of Kia and Hyundai vehicles and provides up to $145M for out-of-pocket losses suffered by people whose Kia or Hyundai vehicles were stolen.
- The settlement comes just months after the automakers agreed to provide free software upgrades to 8.3 million U.S. vehicles that currently lack anti-theft mobilizers.
- A method for stealing some versions of Kia or Hyundai vehicles that highlighted the car's insufficient anti-theft defense was popularized on TikTok in February.
- In February, federal regulators said that thefts of these vehicles led to at least 14 reported crashes and 8 eight deaths in the U.S.
- A dozen major U.S. cities have sued Kia and Hyundai over the design failures that made it easy to steal their vehicles.