Not Mercedes-Benz Or BMW, Land Rover Becomes The UK's Most Stolen Car

Land Rover Defender 110. (Wikimedia Commons/Rutger van der Maar)

JAKARTA - Land Rover's car has become a favorite of thieves in England, beating well-known brands such as Mercedes-Benz to BMW, as car theft rates increase in the country.

The UK's car theft rate has increased by 25 percent. Statistics of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) showed that about one in every 100 Land Rovers circulating were stolen in the last year, until last March.

Data shows the Land Rover is three times more likely to be stolen than the second most popular target for thieves, Mercedes-Benz.

The data obtained by Confused.com through Freedom of Information requests provides a worrying picture of the UK's car theft landscape.

Among the 896,948 Land Rover units licensed in the UK, 8,284 units were reported stolen during the period, equivalent to 924 thefts for each 100,000 units, as reported by The National News July 13.

More specifically, six of the 10 most stolen models were made by Land Rover, with Range Rover Velar R-Dyn being the most targeted.

In second place is Mercedes-Benz with theft rates of 323 units per 100,000 cars. Behind it in a row there are Ford and BMW.

Not only them, the data also shows color preferences among thieves, and black cars are more often stolen. It was recorded that about 18,000 black cars were stolen last year.

The surge in car theft was corroborated by an analysis from AA Insurance which showed a figure of 25 percent last year. According to company crime data, 130,389 cars were stolen in 2022, up from 104,435 in 2021.

Meanwhile, referring to DVLA data, Ford Fiesta experienced a 53 percent spike in theft, with 5,979 units reported stolen over the past year, compared to 3,909 units in the previous year.

It said the increase in Ford Fiesta's theft may be linked to Ford's announcement last year, where they would stop producing this model. Security experts warn that stopping Fiesta production could harm owners, as Fiesta's spare parts prices could increase.

Meanwhile, insurance providers warn about an increase in the sophistication of thieves, who now use high-tech methods such as key cloning or relay theft to avoid advanced vehicle security systems.

In this scheme, thieves use transmitters to capture unique signals from car keys and direct them to other transmitters which are then directed to cars.

These transmitters have evolved in such a way that they can clone key signals from outside the home.

Not only was the theft of cars increasing last year, the number of stolen property from cars also increased. Throughout the past year, thieves managed to rob 212,900 items, an increase from 193,647 in 2021.

"Car theft can "go beyond control" and significantly affect insurance premiums," said AA Insurance Services Management Director Gus Park.

It said the increasing theft rate could lead to an increase in insurance costs, as insurance companies need to bear the risk of higher theft.