Large-Scale Theft Of Hantai Dealer Honda In Japan, 7 Cars Still Lost

A number of Honda vehicles were found again after being stolen in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. (Doc. Best Car)

JAKARTA Japan is now being stalked by a wave of large-scale motor vehicle theft, and one of its targets is the Honda Cars Nozaki dealer network in Tochigi Prefecture. In a surprising incident, the thief managed to break into this dealer and took away 11 cars.

Launching from Best Car on Wednesday, August 21, seven of the eleven cars have yet to be found, while four others have been tracked down and found in Sakura City, Tochigi Prefecture. The still missing cars consist of white Odyssey, white Civic, white Vezel, brown Fit, blue Vezel, black Civic, and black Fit.

According to Masami Matsumoto, Honda's dealer manager, this criminal act occurred in the early hours of August 19, 2024, at around 01.00. The thief targets the vehicle keys that are stored safely in an office safe. It is estimated that the safe was successfully breached using advanced electrical equipment, indicating that the culprit is a very experienced individual.

In addition, the thief also took a suitcase containing spare batteries and left some items at the scene. From the security camera footage, it can be seen that the thieves are professional criminals who are very selective in choosing targets. Interestingly, they did not touch the Civic Type R model which is one of the dealer's main attractions.

The Honda dealer network is indeed well known in Japan for selling Type R cars, including the Civic Type R. Dealer, led by Masami Matsumoto, a former Mugen engineer who was involved in the development of an F1 machine.

This is not the first time Honda's dealer network in Japan has been targeted for theft. Previously, on August 6, 12 vehicles were stolen from Honda dealers in Gunma Prefecture with very similar modes. It is estimated that thieves will sell these stolen cars or export them to other countries, including Asian territory.