New York City is suing Hyundai and Kia, alleging that their cars are too easy to steal and are causing a public nuisance. The city blamed the South Korean carmakers’ failure to install immobilisers on certain models made between 2011 and 2021 as the reason for a “virtual explosion” of thefts in recent months. During those years, the cars were sold with mechanical “turn to start” ignitions, rather than fobs which are harder to copy. It is also said they were also not fitted with an immobiliser, another security feature which requires a code to be transmitted from a car’s key fob before it will start. A surge in thefts was blamed on videos shared on TikTok, apparently showed how easy it was to break into and start the cars after breaking the covers off their ignition systems. A wave of stolen Hyundais and Kias across the US were linked to 14 crashes and eight deaths, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The number of car thefts in New York doubled last year, while in the first four months of this year the number of Kia and Hyundai cars reported as stolen soared to 977, up from 148 a...