The decline that started in 2020 is continuing strongly. In the first half of 2021, 2578 passenger cars were stolen, which is a decrease of more than 21% compared to 2020. The theft of light commercial vehicles has even decreased by more than 41%. The chance of recovering a stolen vehicle is greatest the first day after the theft and has increased slightly by more than 2%.
Increase in stolen SUVs
Almost all vehicle categories have shown a decline since the beginning of 2020. Nevertheless, there are passenger cars that show an increase in thefts: at Nissan and Mazda, thefts increased by 227% and 143% respectively. The Nissan Qashqai and the Mazda CX-5 are largely to blame for this with 56 and 68 units respectively. Overall, SUVs (Sports Utility Vehicles) seem to be becoming more popular with the thieves' guild. With brands such as Renault, Audi, Peugeot and Opel, the numbers of stolen SUVs are increasing, which seems to be in line with the market share of these models.
Top 5
Mercedes and BMW, which have been showing a downward trend for several years, disappear from the top 5. Renault and Peugeot occupy these places, despite falling figures. Volkswagen and Audi remain number 1 and number 5. Volkswagen remains the most stolen car brand with 445 stolen passenger cars. Toyota and Renault follow at a distance with 229 and 203 respectively. Peugeot is a newcomer in the top 5 with 176 thefts. Non-European brands, such as Toyota, Mazda, Nissan, Daihatsu, Kia and Hyundai, were barely involved in car thefts in the past. These brands have also shown an upward trend for several years, according to the National Information and Expertise Center Vehicle Crime.
"Yet the falling theft figures do not mean that we can sit back. Things are going very well now and we have never experienced such sharp decreases before. It is plausible that Covid has an influence on car thefts, but on the other hand the increase in theft at Mazda and Nissan does not prove that. all car thieves are deterred by it. In short, let's not count ourselves rich and remain alert to the prevention and recovery of stolen vehicles. An approved alarm system is and remains the first recommendation."