Council approves measure that could lead to city lawsuit against Kia and Hyundai

The Common Council today approved a substitute resolution that authorizes the City Attorney to retain outside counsel for the purpose of pursuing all potential remedies for damages suffered by the City of Milwaukee as a result of nuisance levels of automobile theft.

Council file #221641 – sponsored by Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs and Alderman Khalif J. Rainey – paves the way for the city to join an increasing number of cities that are taking legal action against Kia and Hyundai. Cosponsors of the file are Alderman José G. Pérez, Alderman Mark Chambers, Jr., and Alderman Russell W. Stamper, II.

Certain models of Kia and Hyundai have been prime targets for car thieves after the automakers chose not to include anti-theft immobilizers as standard equipment on several vehicle models sold in the U.S. As a result, some thieves publicized how easy it was to steal some of the models – even posting ‘how to’ videos on social media.

The damage to public and private property from crashes involving stolen vehicles is immense – as are the injuries, deaths and the overall threat to public safety, as well as the drain on police resources from pursuing stolen vehicles and investigating car thefts.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau found that Milwaukee had the eighth-highest motor vehicle theft rate of any U.S. city in 2021, and that Milwaukee experienced the highest increase in vehicle thefts from 2020 to 2021 in the nation.

Alderwoman Coggs and Alderman Rainey said: “Every aldermanic district and every neighborhood in the City of Milwaukee has been touched by the rash of vehicle thefts, and we have seen the terror and hardship that having a vehicle stolen can bring. We are hopeful that this action can lead to some compensation and justice for our city, and we thank our colleagues for their strong support of this legislation.”