Kia And Hyundai Vehicles Are Still Being Stolen At An Alarming Rate

A series of upgrades made to Kia and Hyundai vehicles sold without immobilizers have helped reduce the widespread theft and vandalism owners have experienced for the last two years. They haven’t eliminated the risk, however, and new data shows just how often owners of impacted vehicles have had to deal with thieves.

There were many rumors that the UAW, which had endorsed President Joe Biden, wasn’t quite sure they wanted to stick by him. Did this lead to President Biden dropping out of the race? It’s unclear, but the UAW seems to be ready to enthusiastically back VP Kamala Harris, who is the presumptive nominee for the Democrats.

Solid-state batteries are supposed to be the next big thing, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still companies out there just trying different chemistries. Also the next big thing? Flying taxis. Stellantis has paired up with a flying taxi company and is now pouring more money into the air taxi because Stellantis definitely needs more brands.

It’s Friday. Let’s have some fun.

The Kia Boyz Are Still At It

One of the strangest outcomes of the late pandemic period was the emergence of the Kia Boyz and their imitators. Presumably, someone had enough time on their hands to determine not only that a large number of Hyundai and Kia vehicles sold in America lacked an immobilizer anti-theft device, but also that the most common USB Type-A male plug could be used to easily steal any of these cars.

Add in the ability of social media to quickly transmit messages, and suddenly there was a nationwide wave of thefts of these specific vehicles. It was bad. And a new study from the Highway Lost Data Institute shows just how terrible a time it was.

The chart below shows the frequency of claims for theft/vandalism for the last few years, displayed as how many claims were made per 1,000 vehicles. To make the data more accurate, the HLDI narrowed it to the model years that correspond with impacted Kia/Hyundai vehicles.

As you can, there was a rise in car thefts during this period, going up to almost three claims per 1,000 vehicles. However, this could have easily been because of just how many Kias and Hyundais were stolen. Look at this:

At one point last year, more than 15-per-1000 were getting hit, which is more than 1-per-100. That’s a lot of cars. Ok, to make it more helpful, the HLDI narrowed it down to the VINs that Kia and Hyundai said were the most at risk:

Yikes! At one point this shows more than 3 cars out of every 100! And this was after the problem was already identified and fixes were going out to customers.

Some of the fixes, admittedly, weren’t great. They sent my dad a Club knockoff for his Kia Soul, and then a window sticker. This was hell for Kia and Hyundai owners who had to worry both about thefts and about losing their insurance.

The data only goes until the end of 2023, and you can see that thefts, while dropping, are still way higher than other vehicles.

It’s Friday, do you want some good news? Here’s some good news. If you have a vehicle that qualifies for a software update and you make the upgrade, your life is going to get a lot easier.

From the HLDI:

Roughly two dozen 2011-22 Hyundai and Kia models are eligible for the upgrade. Those vehicles that received it as of December 2023 — a total of 30% of the eligible Hyundais and 28% of the eligible Kias in HLDI’s database — had theft claim frequencies that were 53% lower than vehicles that didn’t get the upgrade.

Those claims aren’t all for thefts of the entire vehicle. They also include claims for damage to vehicles that were stolen and recovered, theft of vehicle parts and items stolen from inside the vehicle. The frequency of whole vehicle theft, which HLDI calculates by matching the cost of the claim to the amount insurers pay for the same model if it’s totaled in a crash, fell by a larger 64% for vehicles with the upgrade.

“The companies’ solution is extremely effective,” said Matt Moore, senior vice president of HLDI. “If you own a Hyundai or Kia vehicle without an electronic immobilizer, you should call your local dealer about getting the software upgrade today.”

If you can do it, do it. Do it now. Moore said that “[W]e expect claim rates for Hyundai and Kia vehicles to gradually drop back in line with those of other brands, as thieves learn they’re no longer so easy to steal and the fad gets stale”

The idea of stealing certain cars being a fad is terrifying.

UAW Backs Harris And Walz On Michigan Trip

While it feels like ten months ago, it was actually only a few weeks ago that we had a presidential debate between former President Trump and current President Biden that, in retrospect, was terrible for everyone. President Trump lost his favorite sparring partner and President Biden, due in part to just staring off into space with the same look I give every time David says a reference to the TV show “Seinfeld” is too niche, had to drop out.

How much of that was because groups like the United Auto Workers were starting to get cold feet? How much if it was former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi? I’m sure a book will come out and tell us at some point. In the interim, the UAW has come out swinging for VP Harris, including at a big event yesterday in Michigan.

What does the UAW think they’re going to get out of a Harris presidency?

From The Detroit News:

“We just want fairness,” Harris told United Auto Workers packed inside the United Auto Workers Local 900 hall in Wayne. “We want dignity for all people. We want to recognize the pride all people have to freedom and liberty, to make choices, especially those that are about heart and home and not have their government telling them what to do.”

Championing collective bargaining, she added: “We believe in the collective. We’re not falling for these folks who are trying to divide us trying to separate us, trying to pull us apart. That’s not where the strength lies.”

Former President Trump gave a press conference from his resort in Florida and said that, while he doesn’t have the UAW’s support, he does have the “full-throated” support of Tesla CEO Elon Musk:

“He’s very worried about the country… And I don’t know if it’s good for him politically to have supported me, although I think we have a vast majority of this country does support me, but Elon, more than almost anybody I know.”

Musk should help Trump carry the pivotal demographic of people with blue checkmarks on X who try to determine if Olympic athletes are really men.

Ok, But What If Solid-State Tech Doesn’t Work?

People are excited about the prospect of solid-state batteries, which are expected to be easier to produce and have longer range.

But what if that doesn’t work or takes too long to commercialize? In the interim, a lot of companies are looking at chemistries that aren’t the two dominant types (NCM or LFP).

Automotive News has a good roundup of what alternatives are out there, including Sodium Ion, Lithium Sulfur. and most intriguingly to me, Lithium Manganese Iron Phosphate:

Manganese, iron and phosphate are generally affordable and available, Plante Moran said. This chemistry blends the best of nickel cobalt manganese cells with the best of lithium iron phosphate cells, said Nathan Niese, global lead for electric vehicles and energy storage at Boston Consulting Group. The lifespan is shorter than a lithium iron phosphate cell, but energy density is higher, he said.

I’m still a big LFP fan, but an LFP-like cell with more density could be interesting.

Stellantis To Give More Money To Archer Aviation

There are a few car companies out there that are interested in mobility that goes beyond just cars, and that includes flying taxis or air taxis. Hyundai invested in Supernal and Stellantis has put a lot of money into California-based Archer Aviation.

According to Reuters, the company plans to put even more dough into the company:

Archer Aviation on Thursday announced an agreement-in-principle with Stellantis under which the automaker would bear up to $370 million of labor-related costs to support a planned ramp-up of the air-taxi maker’s aircraft.

The funding will give Archer access to much-needed capital to fund the production of its flagship ‘Midnight’ aircraft to 650 units annually. The company had cash and cash equivalents of $360.4 million at the end of June.

As Reuters points out, these stocks have been less hot lately, but Stellantis still seems to be into it. I mean, what’s more likely: Flying taxis or Fiat selling 200,000 cars in the United States in a year?

What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD

Neko Case is, and will always be, the best. Absolutely the best. Here’s her beautiful and plaintive “I Wish I Was The Moon.” Damn.

The Big Question

Have you done a road trip this summer? Do you have one planned? Where are you going or where did you go?