CMPD says TikTok contributing to surge in vehicle thefts

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police presented their end-of-the-year recap at Monday’s Charlotte City Council meeting and highlighted one category that saw a major uptick in 2022: Stolen cars. While vehicle break-ins were down 1% last year, vehicle thefts jumped 20% in Charlotte.

Police attributed the increase in large part to a rising trend on social media video app TikTok, the “Kia Challenge” and “Hyundai Challenge.” The videos encourage and instruct people on how to steal Kias and Hyundais. The challenge has been popularized by a group known as the “KiaBoys” on TikTok, which appears to mainly involve juveniles.

The trend is having a big impact — CMPD officials said a large majority of car thefts committed right now in Charlotte are those two brands, both of which are made by the Hyundai Motor Group.

“Just about eight out of 10 vehicles stolen are a Kia or a Hyundai vehicle,” said CMPD Deputy Chief David Robinson. CMPD's year-end report said Hyundai and Kia thefts more than quadrupled in June, when the viral trend first took off.

On Tuesday, CMPD said it arrested two juveniles driving a stolen Hyundai Tucson in uptown Charlotte. The pair had been driving erratically, and crashed into a truck outside the Mecklenburg County Jail.

The trend has swept the nation, with over 71.8 million views on TikTok. Many videos on the app have shown cars being stolen, tutorials on how to jump-start the vehicles and victims of theft. U.S. cities such as Chicago and Sacramento have also blamed rising vehicle thefts on the viral social media videos.

Robison advises drivers of Kias and Hyundais to be more cautious.

“If you’re a Kia or Hyundai owner, please take precautions to put a Club [anti-theft device] on your steering wheel," said Robinson. "Park in a well-lit area, know where your vehicle is, get a car alarm.”

There were a total of 3,621 local vehicle thefts reported in 2022, compared to 3,020 in 2021.