Of the 5.973 passenger car thefts in 2022, approximately 1100 reports involved embezzlement.
In 2022, 5.973 passenger cars were stolen. This is 11% more than in 2021. 45% of this was recovered. Theft of light commercial vehicles increased by 23% to 1.394 units. Motorcycles (1.694 units) and mopeds & light mopeds (12.590 units) show an increase of 13% and 27% respectively. A total of 18.562 registered vehicles were stolen, of which 39% were recovered.
Most stolen
With 5.973 units, the number of stolen passenger cars is still lower than in 2019, the year before corona broke out. That's when 7.107 vehicles were stolen. With 1.036 units, Toyota takes over the top spot from Volkswagen as the most stolen brand. Toyota shows the largest increase in theft of all brands with 83% compared to 2021. The Toyota RAV 4, the most stolen model with 465 units, dethrones the VW Golf as the most stolen model in recent years. The Toyota Auris is mainly stolen for its parts: of the 193 stolen vehicles, 73% were found without a catalytic converter. Theft of the C-Max, Focus and Fiesta caused a striking increase of 49% at Ford. The theft of electric/hybrid vehicles increased by 74% to 1.002 units. With 771 units, this increase is almost entirely attributable to Toyota. Mercedes, Peugeot and Renault are the notable risers in light commercial vehicles. MAN is a striking newcomer among the heavy commercial vehicles (+26%) with 8 stolen vehicles.
Older vehicles popular
Passenger cars of 3, 4 and 5 years old are the most stolen and account for 27% of thefts. Theft of passenger cars from 0 to 3 years is down by 8%. Passenger cars of 20 years and older show a striking increase in theft of 18%. The recovery percentage for passenger cars has remained the same at 45% as in 2021. The chance of recovery is highest in the first 24 hours at 16%, after one month this is only 7,6%.
eclipse
Of the 5.973 passenger car thefts in 2022, approximately 1100 reports involved embezzlement. This includes vehicles that have been borrowed, rented, leased (commercially or privately) etc. but have not been returned to the rightful owner. There has been a steady increase since 2016 when there were only 400 reports of embezzlement. Embezzlement is a special form of theft and a number of specific conditions must be met for actual theft detection.
Cybercrime
“Vehicle theft prevention is a shared responsibility of manufacturers, insurers and owners alike. Recent American research shows that several brands are easy to hack. So there is an important role for manufacturers to better protect their vehicles against cybercrime,” says manager LIV Rudy Welling. “With theft protection, the focus is often on young vehicles, but there is certainly profit to be made in protecting older vehicles. These are often not equipped with any security at all and give criminals free reign. Prevention is and remains the most important means against theft. A security system with the CCV Vehicle Security Quality Mark for young, but certainly also for older and historic vehicles remains our first recommendation”.
