Top 10 Most Stolen Cars
What are the most stolen vehicles? What’s being done about it? And what can you do to prevent your car from being stolen? That’s what we’re going to find out.
Auto theft has become a major problem across North America, getting worse every single year, and I’m gonna share which vehicles have the highest risk with the highest theft rates for both the US and Canada, what is currently being done to solve it and what you can do to prevent the theft of your vehicle.
Now, there are some patterns in terms of which of the most stolen vehicles for both the US and Canada, including a few vehicles that are on both lists.
But we’ll start off with the first top 10 vehicles that are most stolen in the US and the vehicle that comes in.
Top 10 vehicles that are most stolen in the US
Ford F Series superduty
The number 10 spot is the Ford F Series superduty. According to the Highway Lost Data Institute, the Ford F Series superduty theft claim frequency is three times higher than the average vehicle.
The Ford F Series has been on the Theft Radar for both the US and Canada for many years now. So this one is really no surprise.
Kia Forte
And next up at number nine is the Kia Forte, which again has a theft claim frequency three times higher than the average vehicle.
Kia Rio
And just ahead of the forte at number eight is another Kia, which is the Kia Rio.
Kias and Hyundais have been a big target for thieves in the US for some time now, ever since Carjackers exploited their weak anti-fat protection creating a media frenzy.
Thankfully, both companies have finally taken action to address these issues and the newer Hyundais and Kias have proper antit protection.
So as time goes on, hopefully these numbers will improve.
BMW X
And next up at number seven is the BMW X, the first luxury vehicle in the top 10, which has a theft claim frequency three times higher than average.
Honda CRV
And at number six is a high theft rate vehicle for both the US and Canada, which is the Honda CRV in the US the CRV has a theft claim frequency that’s four times higher than average.
We’ll get to where the CV landed on the Canadian list in just a little bit.
Kia Sportage
But first, let’s move on to the next vehicle at number five, which is the Kia Sportage.
The Sportage, otherwise known as the Sportage, has a theft claim frequency four times higher than average, which again highlights the major theft issues with Kia and Hyundai in the us.
Range Rover
The next vehicle at number four is another luxury vehicle, and that is the Range Rover.
The Range Rover is another top 10 for both Canada and the us. And for the US it has a theft claim frequency six times higher than average.
Now getting into the top three most stolen vehicles.
Dodge Challenger
The one that comes in the number three spot is the Dodge Challenger.
The Challenger has a theft claim frequency that’s seven times higher than average,
Infinity Q 50
the number two spot, the next vehicle is the Infinity Q 50, which has a theft claim frequency that’s eight times higher than average, but these are nothing when compared to the next vehicle that came in the number one spot.
Dodge Charger
The number one spot vehicle is the Dodge Charger, Hemi and Hellcat. The theft claim frequency of the charger Hemi is 20 times higher than average, and the charger Hellcat is 60 times higher than average.
It’s not even close. The charger completely blows away any other late model vehicle for theft in the us.
Now to be fair, these are only the most stolen vehicles for model years between 2020 and 2022.
There are much older vehicles that are around 15 to 20 years old that do have higher theft numbers in the us but I believe that the highway loss data institute data is more relevant to new vehicle shoppers because there’s just a lot more value in knowing which new vehicles have a high theft rate, especially when you’re a potentially shopping one for yourself.
Now, before we get into the top 10 most stolen vehicles for Canada and what you can do to prevent car theft, it really shocking to learn what’s been going on in Canada for the past few years.
Auto theft in Canada has been absolutely skyrocketing with massive increases in theft numbers year over year.
Between 2021 to 2023 alone, auto theft trends increase sharply in Ontario up to 48% in Quebec, 58%, and in Atlantic Canada 34%.
And we are talking about the auto theft of relatively new vehicles, most of which are only around two to three years old and extremely low recovery numbers, which means that most stolen vehicles are not being recovered by law enforcement.
The issue is that Canada has a major problem with high level organized crime, which quite frankly has been making a total mockery of the Canadian system exposing major security and jurisdictional issues.
What has been happening is that criminals have been stealing relatively new SUVs and trucks in huge numbers.
They then drive them or ship them to the port of Montreal or sometimes other ports in Canada where they get shipped around the world to be resold.
And they’re doing all of this with baffling ease. The situation is so ridiculous that owners have reported tracking their stolen vehicles with air tags, watching their vehicle move from their driveway to the train to the port, and then shipped overseas.
And despite watching all of this happen in real time on their phones, the authorities are not able to do anything about it.
Not only is there a lack of proper enforcement and security, but Canada has a major problem with jurisdictional issues which prevent authorities from taking action.
So even when the authorities are paying attention to you and you can show them that your stolen vehicle is just sitting inside of a container at the port of Montreal because of all the jurisdictional issues, there is nothing they can do about it.
It is totally ridiculous. And it seems that the government is finally waking up, possibly because even one of the government’s own ministers, embarrassingly had their own vehicle stolen three times in only three years.
The government recently had a summit with all the relevant stakeholders and they came up with a major action plan.
Top 10 most stolen vehicles in Canada.
Jeep Wrangler
With the first one being in the number 10 spot, the Jeep Wrangler, nearly 1200 wranglers were stolen in Canada last year, the most popular model year being 2021, and that gives it a theft frequency percent of 0.9%.
Chevrolet Silverado & GMC Sierra 1500
And the next vehicle at number nine is the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 1500 just under 1300.
These trucks were stolen in Canada last year with the most stolen model years being 2006 and a theft frequency of 0.2%.
Land Rover Range Rover
And in the number eight spot is the Land Rover Range Rover.
Nearly 1400 of these were stolen in Canada last year with the most popular model year being 2020, and that gives it a theft frequency of an astonishing 3.9%.
Jeep Grand Cherokee
the number seven spot is the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Just under 1400 of these were stolen in Canada with the most popular model year being 2021, and that gives it a theft frequency of 1.1%.
Honda Civic
the number six spot is the Honda Civic, which had nearly 1500 stolen in Canada last year.
The most popular model year being 2019, and a theft frequency of 0.2%.
Toyota Highlander
And in the number five spot is the Toyota Highlander with nearly 1800 of them stolen last year.
The most popular model year being 2021 and a theft frequency of 1.5%
Lexus RX
just ahead of the Highlander in the number four spot is the Lexus RX.
Over 1800 were stolen in Canada last year with the most popular model year being 2020, any theft frequency of 1.9% and now getting into the top three vehicles,
Ford F-150
the one that came in the number three spot is the Ford F-150 with over 1800 stolen in Canada last year, and the most popular model year being 2020 with a theft frequency of 0.3%.
RAM 1500
just ahead of that in the number two spot is another truck, which is the RAM 1500. The number of thefts in Canada last year was 2,600.
The most popular model year being 2022, any theft frequency of 0.5%.
Honda CR-V
And finally, the number one most stolen vehicle in Canada, the Honda CR-V with just over 5,600 stolen in Canada last year, the most popular model year being 2020, and a theft frequency of 1.2%.
Now as mentioned, after having a major summit, the government has come up with an action plan on how to address this major issue, and these are the action items that they have come up with.
Canada Border Services Agency
Firstly, the government is going to invest $28 million to increase the capacity of the Canada Border Services Agency.
They’re also going to look at all possible ways to bend devices that are used to steal vehicles.
The government is also investing $121 million to help prevent gun and gang violence in Ontario, including organized crime and auto theft.
They will also look to improve information sharing between local police and railway police to identify and find stolen cars before they get ports.
Safety Tips
Public Safety, Canada and CBSA and the RCMP will work with partners across Canada and internationally to increase collaboration and information sharing.
Transport Canada will modernize the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and work with public safety partners to identify cargo handling vulnerabilities through targeted security assessments of port facilities and work with the port facilities on corrective action and to implement updated security plans.
The Department of Justice Canada will examine potential amendments to the criminal code to further strengthen the legal framework related to auto theft, including reviewing existing offenses and penalties.
And finally, the government will work with Canadian companies, including the auto industry to develop innovative solutions to protect vehicles against theft.
Hopefully all the stakeholders that are involved in this very comprehensive plan will start to take action really quickly because this is a major problem that’s affecting almost everyone in the end.
Remember, even if you don’t own a vehicle with a high theft rate, the rapidly increasing theft claims are costing insurance companies an enormous amount of money costs which insurance companies just pass on to consumers.
So the longer this issue drags on, the more it’s going to cost everyone in the end how effective this action plan will be at reducing auto theft is anyone’s guess at this point.
Now, if you don’t wanna tamper with the electronics of your vehicle, you can try a combination of getting a Faraday pouch and also an OBD port lock.
Port hacking is a major form of auto theft, so installing a lock on your OBD port can help reduce the risk. It is inexpensive and pretty easy to install. So I’d say that this one is definitely worth it.
Another one still worth using is the old fashioned steering wheel lock. No, it won’t fully prevent theft.
Thieves can still cut these off, but it will slow them down. And for some it may be enough to stop them from even bothered trying.
One product that I would not count on however, are the anti-fat protection products that dealers are often pushing on consumers and often passing off as mandatory add-ons when purchasing a new vehicle.
Often times these dealer anti-theft protections are nothing but VIN etching, which is totally useless and ineffective. So don’t let a dealer try and sell you this nonsense for five to $800 because it’s just not worth it.