Atlanta Police Department (APD) Captain Ralph Woolfolk confirmed this week that 60 percent of all auto thefts in the Georgia city are of Kia and Hyundai vehicles, since viral videos on social media showed the public how easy it is to steal the vehicles.
During a recent public safety meeting, representatives from the APD disclosed that there have been 937 reported cases of auto theft from the start of the year as of March 25th. This marks a significant increase of approximately 45% compared to the same period in 2022. Shockingly, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that thefts involving Kia and Hyundai vehicles have surged by a staggering 830%.
“We’ve got 511 vehicles that have been stolen this year, Kia and Hyundai alone, in comparison to about 50 last year,” Woolfolk said. “This is obviously a special focus for us. We want to make sure we get this right as we move through the second quarter of the year.”
Read: Hyundai, Kia Offer Old-Tech Solution To Hi-Tech TikTok Car Theft Epidemic
Hyundai Motor Company (which owns both the Kia and Hyundai brands) is attempting to address this concern, and has offered software upgrades for 2017-2020 Hyundai Elantras, 2015–2019 Sonatas, and 2020–2021 Venues, among others. This update extends the length of the alarm sound from 30 seconds to one minute, and requires the key to be in the ignition for the car to start.
In addition, the automakers are working with police departments, such as Atlanta’s, to hand out old-school steering wheel locks they hope will deter thefts. Despite these measures, a number of cities have sued Hyundai.
They allege that the increasing thefts are due to the vehicles being sold without immobilizers. They further claim that the increasing rates of crimes are putting an unfair financial burden on their budgets. Hyundai has described the suits as “without merit,” saying that there are no regulations requiring vehicles to come with immobilizers.
Meanwhile, the automaker said last week that it had rolled out its software updates to more than 1 million vehicles, and that it plans to update 3 million more in the coming weeks. Whether that will be enough to curb theft rates remains to be seen.
