Is your car on the list of most stolen in South Africa?
According to Carinfo.co.za SA’s car theft statistics are some of the highest in the world. As many as 55,000 cars are stolen each year. So, is your car on the list of most stolen?
Carinfo.co.za did some digging to find out just which cars are the most stolen in South Africa but they found that not many people want to share these findings, for fear of upsetting the manufacturer’s perhaps? What they did find however was a list that was made back in 2010. This is a while back, but they also found out that insurance industry experts say models of cars most stolen has changed very little.
The reason for this is because some models are more popular in South Africa and across Africa as a whole (30% of stolen cars are taken across South Africa’s borders). Also, due to the popularity of these models, there is a high demand for car parts for these models, resulting in more of the same cars being stolen to supply these parts.
Carinfo says, “Statistics from as recently as April 2015 show that at least two models of stolen car are identical to those from the 2010 list.”
So what is the list?
- The Toyota Hiace
- The Nissan 1400
- The Toyota Hilux
- The Toyota Venture
And another biggie on the list is the Toyota Fortuner. Basically, if you own a Toyota you are in trouble! Jokes! There are other factors that contribute to cars being stolen such as older models, between 7 and 21 years old. Mini buses and sedans are popular with car thieves and entry level or luxury cars rather than mid market models are targets. Location also plays a role according to Carinfo, Gauteng has the highest level of stolen cars reported (27 470 car thefts between April 2013 and March 2014). The Western Cape comes in second place with 9 511 reports and KwaZulu Natal third with 8 723 reports.
For more information go to Carinfo.co.za