The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 8th (local time) that the two companies are facing lawsuits as the 'Stealing Hyundai/Kia' social media challenge is rampant across the United States, from Atlanta in the southern United States to Seattle in the northwest.



Some models of Kia Motors produced between 2011 and 2021 and certain Hyundai models manufactured between 2016 and 2021 are targets of thieves.



According to the Cook County Sheriff's Office in Illinois, reports of theft of 601 Kia and Hyundai vehicles were received in Chicago in August alone.



In St. Louis, Missouri, a total of 3,970 vehicle theft reports were received as of the 29th of last month, and nearly half, or 48%, were Kia or Hyundai, the St. Louis Police Department said.



Of the total number of vehicle thefts in St. Louis last year (3,784), Hyundai and Kia only accounted for 7%.



Then, the rapid increase in theft cases targeting Hyundai and Kia is due to a kind of challenge that encourages people to steal Hyundai and Kia vehicles for fun through social media such as TikTok and YouTube.



A group of 'Kia Boys', who appear to be based in Milwaukee, are sharing videos on social media instructing them on how to steal Hyundai/Kia cars.



The two companies' vehicles made in that year mostly used traditional metal keys and lacked an 'engine immobilizer', an anti-theft device, so they were easy to steal in a short period of time, the newspaper said.



Darby Solmos, 28, who lives in an apartment in Denver, told the WSJ that someone tried to steal his 2013 Kia Sportage and failed with only the steering column broken, but this summer the Sportage disappeared from the apartment parking lot.



Local governments have also warned of the possibility of lawsuits, as the victimized borrowers have filed class-action lawsuits against Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors in various places stating that they 'made and sold defective cars'.



The city of St. Louis last month sent a letter to Hyundai and Kia informing them that they would take legal action if they did not take action to help solve the problem, the WSJ reported.



Hyundai Motor is said to be preparing countermeasures such as providing paid security upgrades to consumers in October.