Hyundai And Kia To Pay $200M, Settle Lawsuit With Victims Of Viral Social Media Challenge

Korean automakers Hyundai Motor Co HYMTF and Kia Corp KIMTF have agreed to pay $200 million to settle the consumer class-action lawsuit.
The companies faced suit related to rampant thefts of the vehicles inspired by a viral social media challenge on TikTok.
The settlement includes up to $145 million for out-of-pocket losses for customers who lost their cars, covering around 9 million U.S. owners, Reuters reported.
According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the social media challenge led to nationwide car theft, with at least 14 reported crashes and eight fatalities.
The automakers had agreed to software upgrades to 8.3 million U.S. vehicles to help curb thefts. However, upgrades will not be available for many affected vehicles until June, and were incompatible with some 2011-2022 models.
Also, the automakers had planned to reimburse around $300 to customers whose vehicles lack features to avail security software upgrades for buying steering wheel locks and other such devices.
The companies had offered wheel locks to some law enforcement agencies too, with over 26,000 steering wheel locks already provided to 77 agencies across 12 states since November 2022.
Also read: Hyundai's New 'Crab Driving' Tech Will End Your Parallel-Parking Nightmares Forever - See It To Believe It
Price Action: HYMTF shares are trading lower by 0.25% at $39.20 on the last check Friday.