Newark, Other Cities Sue 2 Major Car Makers Over Vehicle Thefts

NEWARK, NJ — Newark is suing Kia and Hyundai after a jaw-dropping increase in car thefts of those vehicles, authorities said.

The reason? The two major companies intentionally left out an important piece of anti-theft technology in their vehicles from 2011 to 2021, Newark officials alleged.

In total, 19 other cities are also suing the automakers for failing to include engine immobilizers in their vehicles, including Chicago, Milwaukee and New York.

New Jersey’s largest city has been seeing a steep rise in Kia and Hyundai thefts. From 2022 to 2023, Newark saw a whopping 1,246 percent increase in thefts of those types of cars, which officials say is directly related to the failure to install immobilizers.

In Newark and elsewhere, the surge in Kia and Hyundai thefts also led to a jump in violent offenses like reckless driving and armed robbery, officials allege.

Although violent crime is at a “historic low” in Newark, the city has seen a rise in some types of property crime, such as auto thefts, which rose 98 percent last year. Read More: Newark Is Becoming A Safer Place To Live, 2023 Crime Stats Show

Newark officials gave some more details about the rise in auto thefts that led to the lawsuit:

“Newark’s complaint alleges that Kia and Hyundai knowingly failed to equip cars sold in the US from 2011 to 2021 with this vital anti-theft technology, which almost all other car manufacturers made a standard feature more than a decade ago. Further, Kia and Hyundai were aware that its security failures were exposed in a viral TikTok in early 2022, and were aware by mid-2022 that thefts of its vehicles had soared exponentially as a result. According to the lawsuit, these thefts “inherently endanger Newark citizens and heavily burden Newark’s already-strained resources. Yet in face of these harmful impacts, Hyundai and Kia have done nothing. Instead of accepting responsibility for their harmful products through a recall or some other widespread repair program, the manufacturers instead have left it to vehicle owners and local law enforcement to address the problem.”

Videos posted on social media didn’t help, Newark authorities added.

“Once videos posted on social media exposed this defect, thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles in Newark surged,” officials said. “Thefts of these vehicles in the first 10 months of 2023 were 1,678 percent over 2022 statistics. Specifically, a total of 1,956 Hyundais and Kias were reported stolen in the first 10 months of 2023, while only 110 Hyundais and Kias were stolen in 2022.”

In addition, the Newark Police Division was required to dedicate more than 19,824 auto theft suppression overtime hours to address this car theft surge in the first 10 months of 2023. That amounted to more than $1 million in overtime cost – which was more than the yearly auto theft suppression overtime costs of 2021 and 2022 combined, officials said.

To add insult to injury, many of the vulnerable models of car are used by low-income workers to get to their jobs – meaning that the bulk of the misery impacts people who can’t afford to buy a new car, Mayor Ras Baraka said.

“If Newark doesn’t defend itself against these huge corporations, no one will, so we are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with other cities that have had enough,” Baraka said.

• See Related: Corporations Own Most Of Newark's Homes. New Laws Are Pushing Back

“These two colossal automakers have failed to remedy their misconduct, refusing to provide the steering wheel locks and transponder chips demanded by the other suing cities,” agreed Newark corporation counsel Kenyatta Stewart.

“Their failure to install these devices is in violation of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 114, which requires vehicles’ motor starting systems and steering to be inoperable when the key is removed,” Stewart said.

“Unconscionably, Hyundai and Kia have actually taken further advantage of the crisis by charging consumers for theft security kits,” Stewart added.

Newark is seeking damages from Kia and Hyundai for the automakers’ alleged “fraud, negligence, deceptive marketing practices, sale of defective products, unjust enrichment and public nuisance.”

Newark is also seeking to reclaim expenses incurred by the city in responding to the wave of thefts caused by the “knowing and intentional security failures,” officials said.

While the alleged misconduct from Hyundai and Kia has caused auto theft numbers to jump in Newark, there’s also another factor behind the local rise in vehicle thefts, officials previously said: people leaving their engines idling.

According to Newark public safety officials, about one of five stolen cars in Newark is left running.

• See Related: Newark Car Thefts Continue; Don't Leave Vehicles Running, Cops Plead

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