Over 350 vehicles a day are taken and a large number are never seen again, according to the latest ONS crime report.
Government data shows that there were nearly 130,000 recorded vehicle theft crimes in the 12 months to March 2024, and many end up broken for parts or shipped abroad for resale. One region in Wales was in the top five favoured by thieves.
Prestige brands are the main targets for thieves using devices to get around anti-theft systems, but there is money to be made in stealing and stripping popular family cars as well to give them new identities with false paperwork and number plates.
RAC spokesperson Rod Dennis said, “After falling steadily during the 2010s, the last few years have seen an alarming rise in the number of recorded crimes where vehicles are stolen with an average of 356 being taken every day of the year.
“And when you consider that most car theft crimes go unsolved,* it’s a pretty bleak picture. It’s a real cat-and-mouse situation between vehicle manufacturers and criminals, with carmakers ever tightening security, only for thieves to use increasingly using sophisticated tactics to find a way round their systems.
DVLA Swansea analysis shows the most stolen models last year were: Ford Fiesta, Ford Focus, VW Golf, Mercedes C-Class, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Evoque, BMW 3-Series, Vauxhall Corsa, Vauxhall Astra, Land Rover Discovery Sport.
