A second consecutive title… but for a less coveted trophy: that of the most stolen car in France. After the Prius in 2021, another Toyota model won the award last year, the RAV4, according to the annual Auto Plus ranking published this Friday, February 17.
A “magic enclosure” to steal a RAV4?
The Toyota SUV is at the top of the ranking, with 240 thefts for 10,000 insured vehicles. With the explanation, a fairly simple process to steal the RAV4 and other models including its high-end Lexus brand, such as the NX, second in the ranking, with a rate of 83 thefts per 10,000 units.
“A mobile speaker signed by JBL would be able to open Toyota and Lexus in a few seconds. Actually, it is a decoy, which houses a hacking kit dedicated to certain models of the Japanese firm. A system sold under the guise of a few thousand euros, but so effective that it will awaken vocations among all budding thugs”, explains Auto Plus.
However, owners of the fifth-generation RAV4 (the one that has been sold since 2018) rest assured: “last October, the gendarmerie will finally bring down the criminal networks that imported the famous ‘magical’ compound,” the magazine continues.
Flights on the rise
The rest of the ranking is less surprising, with quite popular models in France, such as the Renault Mégane 4, in fifth place (38 flights per 10,000), or the Toyota CH-R and Peugeot 3008 (9th ex-aequo, 29 flights).
More worryingly, Auto Plus notes that the number of thefts rose sharply last year, with 134,000 total reported thefts, up from 127,700 in 2021, a jump of 9%.
This gives an impressive figure of 360 thefts per day or 15 stolen cars per hour. Sometimes with formidable electronic theft techniques, thanks to “increasingly sophisticated tools, which allow them to hijack a vehicle in less than 3 minutes, even, on certain models, in just 40 seconds,” explains the specialized magazine.
Source: BFM TV
