CNN
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More than a year after Hyundai and Kia released new anti-theft software updates, a new analysis of insurance claims data shows that while overall thefts are still alarmingly high, the number of thefts of vehicles equipped with the new software has decreased.
The automaker rolled out the updates starting in February last year after a series of social media posts showing how to steal vehicles led to a tenfold increase in thefts of certain Hyundai and Kia models over the past three years.
According to the Highway Loss Data Institute, Hyundai and Kia cars that received the software upgrade experienced a 64 percent reduction in “whole vehicle” theft claims (insurance claims for the loss of the entire vehicle) compared to cars of the same make, model and year that didn’t have the upgrade.
“The solutions that these companies have implemented are highly effective,” Matt Moore, senior vice president of HLDI, a trade group backed by auto insurers, said in a statement.
The cars in question are some of the older Hyundai and Kia models manufactured before 2023 that are particularly vulnerable to theft. Cheaper versions of these cars come equipped with turnkey ignitions rather than push-a-button starts, making them roughly twice as likely to be stolen as other cars of the same age, according to the HLDI.
According to HLDI, many of these cars also lack basic auto anti-theft technology, such as electronic immobilizers that are found in most other cars made in the same year. Immobilizers rely on a computer chip in the car and another chip in the key to communicate with each other to verify that the key is authentic and really belongs to that car.
Between the start of 2020 and the first half of 2023, thefts of Hyundai and Kia models increased by more than 1,000%.
As part of a $200 million settlement related to the issue, Hyundai and Kia, the closely-related South Korea-based car brands, began offering free anti-theft software upgrades for some older models starting in February 2023. More than 2 million Hyundai and Kia vehicles have received the update so far, according to the two automakers.
Theft remains high
HLDI looked at insurance claims data for the 2023 calendar year. By the end of that year, only around 30% of vehicles covered by security software had the software installed.
A Hyundai spokesperson said that about 61% of affected Hyundai vehicles have received the software upgrade so far. That said, not all vulnerable Hyundai and Kia models have the proper hardware to enable the software upgrade. For vehicles that can’t get the software, Hyundai and Kia are offering steering wheel locks.
And despite the new software, these older Hyundai and Kia vehicles are still being stolen and broken into more frequently than other vehicles, HLDI found.
Moore said one reason could be that owners aren’t properly using the vehicles’ new security software: For the anti-theft software to work, the vehicle must be locked using a button on the key fob, rather than turning a metal key in the door lock.
In an interview with CNN, Moore said he expected Hyundai and Kia theft rates to fall as more vehicles have security software installed.
He added that the wave of Hyundai and Kia thefts was also part of a trend that spread through social media: Tik Tok and YouTube videos showed how easy it was to steal these cars, and many of the people doing it weren’t full-fledged car thieves, he said.
“Certainly there are news reports that some of the people who do this are just doing it for fun,” Moore said. “It’s probably fair to assume that at some point, this fleeting hobby of stealing vehicles will die out.”
