WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp agreed to a consumer class-action lawsuit settlement worth more than $200 million over rampant car thefts of the Korean automakers’ vehicles, lawyers for the owners said on Thursday.
In February, the Korean automakers said they would offer software upgrades to 8.3 million U.S. vehicles without anti-theft immobilizers to help curb increasing car thefts using a method popularized on TikTok and other social media channels.
The settlement covers about 9 million U.S. owners and includes up to $145 million for out-of-pocket losses for consumers who had cars stolen, lawyers for the owners said.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese)