Car theft hotspots in Britain where car crime is widespread have been revealed in exclusive data for This is Money.
Vehicle valuation specialists HPI found that 109 cars are flagged as stolen every day, and Britain’s car theft capital recorded almost 20,000 cases last year, equating to 760 engines for every 100,000 vehicles registered there.
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Greater London experienced the highest number of thefts in total, with 18,624 thefts recorded from 2,451,620 cars on the road (0.76 per cent are stolen).
Outside of London, the area with the highest car theft in the UK is the West Midlands, with 11,865 cars stolen throughout 2023.
A total of 2,955,660 cars circulate in the area, according to 2023 statistics.
This means that 401 out of every 100,000 cars in the area were reported stolen that year.
Greater London experienced the highest number of thefts in total, with 18,624 vehicles recorded as stolen out of 2,451,620 registered in total in the region, equivalent to 760 per 100,000 motors.
And it’s particularly bad news for Toyota RAV4 SUV owners in London, as do 7,009 residents.
Unfortunately for them, 826 were stolen last year, meaning 11,785 out of every 100,000 in London will be stolen in 2023, the highest proportion for conventional models.
Another car that has a high theft rate by volume in circulation is the Hyundai Ioniq, with 10,972 per 100,000 stolen last year, based on 325 thefts and only 2,962 registered in the capital.
The Lexus RX also has a high theft rate in London of 6,904 per 100,000 units, as does its smaller sibling, the NX (4,685 per 100,000 units).
Land Rover models also have relatively high theft rates: Range Rover Evoque diesel vehicles have a 3,856 per 100,000 chance of being stolen; the diesel Discovery Sport is even higher at 4,305; and the diesel Range Rover Sport is also high at 3,761.
However, the most stolen model in London is the Ford Fiesta.
In 2023, some 924 copies were taken from their rightful owners. With 75,096 registered in the capital, this represents 1,254 thefts per 100,000 copies.
This is Money exclusively revealed the most stolen cars of 2023 in January, with two Fords in the top five and three Jaguar Land Rover vehicles in the top 10.
The northwest of England is the third country with the highest number of thefts recorded, with 6,742 cars stolen out of a total of 3,347,918 on its roads.
Jon Clay, identification director at HPI, said: “Police data shows that a car was stolen in Britain every eight minutes on average last year, an increase of almost 5 per cent on the previous year.”
Yorkshire and Humber (251 thefts per 100,000 cars), the North West of England (201 per 100,000 cars) and the East of England (173 per 100,000 cars) were next on the list of theft hotspots.
The smallest proportion of car crime occurs in Northern Ireland, where 21 in every 100,000 vehicles were reported stolen in 2023.
South West England (60), Scotland (75) and Wales (89) also had low car theft rates per 100,000 engines.
EXCLUSIVEREAD MORE: The most stolen cars of 2023 revealed
1. Ford Fiesta – 5,976 stolen (BELOW 0.1% compared to 2022)
2. Ford Focus – 2,120 stolen (BELOW 3.0% compared to 2022)
3. VW Golf – 2,038 stolen (ABOVE 0.1% compared to 2022)
4. Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 1,786 stolen (ABOVE 29.6% compared to 2022)
5. Range Rover Sport – 1,631 stolen (BELOW 28.6% compared to 2022)
6. Range Rover Evoque – 1,489 stolen (BELOW 2.8% compared to 2022)
7. BMW 3 Series – 1,466 stolen (BELOW 0.8% compared to 2022)
8. Vauxhall Corsa – 1,110 stolen (BELOW 13.3% compared to 2022)
9. Vauxhall Astra – 1,086 stolen (BELOW 12.4% compared to 2022)
10. Land Rover Discovery Sport – 954 stolen (ABOVE 15.2% compared to 2022)
Source: DVLA reported motor vehicle thefts in 2023 (1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023), data provided to LeasoLoco via FOI request
How many car thieves are caught and what is the broader impact on car insurance premiums?
Unfortunately, car thieves are rarely punished.
In fact, the rate of vehicle theft charges in England and Wales decreased between July 2022 and June 2023.
In July 2022, the charge rate was 2.8 percent, while in June last year it was only 1.43 percent.
Technological advances are making it easier for thieves to bypass the so-called “secure devices” used by automakers.
According to HPI, keyless car theft is now the most common tactic used by organized criminals to steal high-value wheels, and turbo decoders are also becoming more common (when manual door locks are activated by a device which works like a master key).
Both 2016 Jaguar and Land Rover cars are now eligible for theft prevention upgrades to bring them in line with the latest models in showrooms today.
Keyless car theft has been a big problem for luxury carmakers such as JLR, which is on track to spend £15 million to update 2016 to 2022 models with its latest security technology.
The luxury car firm has been the target of organized crime groups that take advantage of the high global demand for vehicles. Many of these trapped Land Rover and Range Rover 4x4s are loaded into containers and shipped overseas.
The Association of British Insurers revealed that insurance premiums soared last year as a result of a rise in theft-related vehicle claims.
It said the average car insurance premium increased by 25 per cent in 2023, reaching £543. up from £434 in 2022.
The average driver paid £627 to insure their car in the final quarter of 2023, an increase of 12 per cent on the previous three months.
ABI figures show how much the average car insurance policy has increased over the last two years. He said this was a result of an increase in complaints, many of them related to theft.
At the beginning of May, JLR announced it is offering £150 a month towards the cost of its in-house insurance for buyers of new Range Rovers to encourage sales in the face of theft problems and sky-high premiums.
Unfortunately, cars with hidden secrets are often offered for sale by unreliable sellers who do not always declare to unsuspecting buyers that the car is stolen or even that the insurance is canceled.
Clay recommends a standard HPI check to “help drivers quickly establish if a car has been reported stolen or if there are discrepancies, such as accident data or altered mileage.”
He said: “By creating a complete vehicle history, any discrepancies are highlighted, giving car buyers the information and confidence they need before purchasing.”
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