MN A-G Ellison opens civil investigation of Kia and Hyundai, prompted by rash of vehicle thefts

Published On: March 8th, 20230.8 min readCategories: Covid-19, Featured, Latest Headlines, Local News, News

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is opening a civil investigation of Kia and Hyundai, prompted by a huge increase of thefts particularly in the Twin Cities area.  Ellison says many of those companies’ vehicles don’t have industry-standard anti-theft technology — and a friend asked him…

“Is too much to ask to have a car that’s not easily broken into and stolen — a car that actually locks?  I think that’s something you could expect.”

Ellison isn’t saying whether he’ll sue the car manufacturers, but does say his office is gathering information aggressively and he expects to move quickly.

Officials say after a TikTok challenge on social media, young people saw how easy it is to break into Kia and Hyundai vehicles because they don’t have immobilizers.  Bills in both the Minnesota House and Senate would require auto makers to provide anti-theft devices free-of-charge on any vehicle 2013-or-later that doesn’t have that technology.

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