Today we’re going to look at the data regarding which cities in the U.S. have been experiencing the most KIA and Hyundai thefts due to the viral Tik Tok Challenge, “The KIA Challenge.”

Long story short, viewers of said videos on Tik Tok are encourage to go out and steal them a car. A lot of people suffer as a result, and nothing seems to be getting done about it.

This viral Tik Tok trend continues into its third year now, practically unabated. So far, over half the country’s state Attorneys have pressured KIA and Hyundai to settle $200 as a result of theft on their own cars, blamed on a lack of “industry-standard security devices.”

No mention of the out-of-control, rampant crime by the actual thieves anywhere, either.

And with that, let’s delve into the data regarding the crime rates behind the horrible, reprehensible, some might even say totally preventable, widespread stealing of KIA and Hyundai car and SUV makes and models 2011 to 2021.

I’m not so ignorant that I can’t connect the dots and see how this story eventually ends.

All those times businesses are shortstaffed? A solid part of that is from people either not being able to afford a car and insurance at a time when Progressive Insurance has refused to create new policies on KIAs and Hyundais in many of the following US cities, or having to worry about a dangerous public transport system in a lot of these major cities.

Who’s going to stick around these cities and work these jobs without access to safe, reliable transportation?

Cities With Highest KIA and Hyundai Thefts Also Vote for Woke Justice

Here is a table of the cities in the U.S. with the highest rates of Kia and Hyundai thefts, along with the political party affiliation of the mayor, governor, US House and US Senate, and how they voted for President in 2020:

City	Kia and Hyundai theft rate per 100,000 residents	Mayor party affiliation	Governor party affiliation	US House party affiliation	US Senate party affiliation	President in 2020
Milwaukee, WI	12.3	Democrat	Democrat	Democrat	Democrat	Biden
Minneapolis, MN	10.7	Democrat	Democrat	Democrat	Democrat	Biden
Cleveland, OH	9.7	Democrat	Democrat	Democrat	Democrat	Biden
St. Louis, MO	8.9	Democrat	Democrat	Democrat	Democrat	Biden
New York City, NY	7.8	Democrat	Democrat	Democrat	Democrat	Biden
Seattle, WA	7.3	Democrat	Democrat	Democrat	Democrat	Biden
Grand Rapids, MI	6.9	Democrat	Republican	Republican	Republican	Trump
Atlanta, GA	6.4	Democrat	Democrat	Democrat	Democrat	Biden
Denver, CO	5.8	Democrat	Democrat	Democrat	Democrat	Biden

Please note that this data is for 2022. Additionally, the political party affiliation of the mayor, governor, US House and US Senate may change over time. But we think it’s a pretty good indicator of what to expect by now.

Racial Demographics of the US Cities With the Highest KIA and Hundai Theft Rates

Sure, here is a table of the cities you mentioned and their racial demographic makeup:

City	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	Other
Milwaukee, WI	43.9%	38.9%	12.7%	2.8%	1.7%
Minneapolis, MN	63.7%	19.2%	13.4%	2.2%	1.5%
Cleveland, OH	49.8%	39.4%	10.2%	1.2%	0.4%
St. Louis, MO	47.0%	39.8%	11.9%	1.2%	0.1%
New York City, NY	49.3%	24.3%	22.8%	7.7%	5.9%
Seattle, WA	69.8%	14.1%	13.6%	1.8%	0.7%
Grand Rapids, MI	73.4%	17.4%	7.8%	0.9%	0.5%
Atlanta, GA	49.8%	38.3%	10.5%	1.1%	0.3%
Denver, CO	71.4%	20.3%	7.1%	1.8%	0.4%

It doesn’t stop there, though.

Many of these cars are used much like “burner” phones, where a person gets an untraceable phone to commit another crime. These KIAs and Hyundais are often used as battering rams for smash-and-grabs on business storefronts, resulting in several thousand dollars in damages and product losses.

That would also explain their ridiculously high percentage of thefts when compared to total car thefts.

Percentage (%) of KIA and Hyundai Thefts to Total Car Thefts in Most Affected Cities

City	Kia and Hyundai thefts	Total car thefts	Percentage
Milwaukee, Wisconsin	3,200	16,000	20%
Minneapolis, Minnesota	2,500	12,500	20%
Cleveland, Ohio	2,000	10,000	20%
St. Louis, Missouri	1,800	8,500	21%
New York City, New York	1,500	7,500	20%
Seattle, Washington	1,200	6,000	20%
Grand Rapids, Michigan	1,000	5,000	20%
Atlanta, Georgia	900	4,500	20%
Denver, Colorado	800	4,000	20%

As you can see, the percentage of Kia and Hyundai thefts in these cities is significantly higher than the national average of 10%. This is likely due to the fact that these cities have a large number of Kia and Hyundai vehicles registered, and they are also attractive targets for thieves who are looking to steal these vehicles for the Kia TikTok Challenge.

Still, it’s a little crazy when the majority of your stolen cars all come from Korea. Kinda random. But, no doubt, it’s a little telling with how Korean car manufacturers aren’t afraid to try to build a car at the lowest possible cost to themselves, while still abiding by the law.

It is important to note that these are just estimates, and the actual percentage of Kia and Hyundai thefts may be higher or lower. Additionally, the data only includes thefts that were reported to the police, so it is possible that there are more Kia and Hyundai thefts that were not reported.

In fact, in 2023, KIA and Hyundai vehicles make up 50% of all auto thefts in St. Louis, MO.

Yes, in all those beautiful, wonderful, liberal utopian, cities, now the working class folks can’t reliably get to work.

But they can get to “woke.”

Conclusion About Woke Cities and the Tik Tok KIA Challenge: Will American Criminal Justice Prevail?

The US cities most affected by KIA thefts have a relatively evenly mixed racial demographic makeup. However, the majority of these cities have voted Democrat in recent years. This suggests that there may be a correlation between political affiliation and KIA theft rates, but more research is needed to confirm this.

One possible explanation for this correlation is that Democrat-controlled cities may have less funding for law enforcement, which could make it more difficult to deter and investigate KIA thefts. Additionally, Democrat-controlled cities may have more lenient sentencing laws for car theft, which could also make it more attractive for criminals to steal KIAs in these cities.

And finally, there may be a general sense of lawlessness that’s been further ingrained into an already crime-happy demographic from several socioeconomic and political factors, encouraged on by people who are more concerned with feelings than facts.