VEHICLE thefts have soared by 33 per cent during the last year as official DVLA figures show 74,769 machines were stolen in 2020, up 18,481 from 2019 and equating to 205 thefts a day.
The shocking statistics came to light following a Freedom of Information request by Rivervale Leasing to find out which cars were most frequently stolen.
What is less surprising is that the top 10 targets for crooks combine a blend of hugely popular and prestige vehicles.
So topping the table is the Ford Fiesta supermini with 3392 incidents recorded by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
That’s followed by the plush Range Rover SUV (2881 thefts), Volkswagen Golf (1975), Ford Focus (1587) and BMW 3 Series (1435).
The others most at risk of unwanted attention were the Vauxhall Astra (1126), Land Rover Discovery (900), Mercedes-Benz E-Class (766), BMW 5 Series (678) and Nissan Qashqai (655).
And it seems that criminals’ tastes haven’t changed that much, with the top nine most-stolen cars still in the same order on the list, despite the significant overall increases.
The only change is that the Audi A3, with 458 thefts in 2019 and only 229 in 2020, has been replaced by the Qashqai in 10th place.
And, worryingly, the latest Office for National Statistics report reveals that 72 per cent of stolen vehicles are not returned to the owner – the highest figure since 2010.
