Just last week, New York City Mayor Eric Adams held a news conference where he announced a plan to provide vehicle owners with free Apple AirTags to help them track their vehicles in case of theft. Citizens are then encouraged to contact the police with that data in the hopes of recovering the vehicle.
But it’s clear that state and local governments are being forced to take matters into their hands because the automaker’s solution is not working. For their part, both carmakers, which are owned by the Hyundai Motor Group, are working to accelerate the software fix distribution.
Supposedly, there are 6,000 installations daily, and affected owners are being contacted via email, phone calls, social media, and other forms of advertising but authorities are not satisfied. Of those 4.5 million eligible vehicles, only 210,000 have received the update. “Kia and Hyundai prioritized profit over people by not installing engine immobilizers in these vehicles,” Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb said when announcing the city’s lawsuit.
Authorities are rightly concerned these thefts will lead to violence if the carmakers don’t take more drastic actions.