It is still an impressive figure: in France, a vehicle is stolen every 4 minutes. Last year there were 133,800 cases, 9% more than in 2021, as revealed by the latest Coyote Secure observatory. The company, which last year installed more than 100,000 plotters, already has a fleet of 400,000 vehicles in France and Belgium, and completes the data of this study focused on France with those of the Ministry of the Interior.
“This is a real break with the downward trend or a certain stabilization of flights in recent years, which reinforces the need to insure vehicles,” says Kévin Vaney, spokesman for Coyote.
Among the most affected regions, we find Ile-de-France in the podium, with 5.9 thefts per 1,000 vehicles equipped with a Coyote Secure solution. Ahead of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, with a loss index of 4.2. With an 11% increase in flights last year, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region joined this uncoveted podium. These three regions alone account for more than half of the vehicle thefts in France.
“What is striking this year is that the least affected regions are facing a sharp increase in thefts,” said Kévin Vaney.
The Coyote Secure Observatory thus notes an increase in thefts of 29% in Brittany, 21% in Centre-Val de Loire and 14% in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
highly sought after hybrids
Unsurprisingly, SUVs remain the most sought after vehicles by thieves, with a loss rate of 3.2 per 1,000, a figure that, however, remains stable compared to 2021.
“The most significant increase in one year refers to hybrid models, whose risk of theft increases by more than 40% in 2022 to reach 3.3/1000,” says the Coyote study.
It’s been a few years since hybrid vehicles have been particularly targeted by thieves, particularly for their tailpipes that contain rare metals like rhodium, the price of which has skyrocketed recently.
After the Prius in 2021, another Toyota model, the RAV4 SUV, finished first in the ranking of the most stolen cars in 2022 published by the Automatic More.
A trend that Coyote Secure clearly confirms, particularly with “incidental seizures”: when a tracker-equipped vehicle is found, investigators can potentially get their hands on other stolen vehicles stored in the same location, but also spare parts, like these Famous catalytic converters.
Two-wheelers and professionals continue to be popular
Another favorite target of thieves: professional vehicles. Company cars and utility vehicles therefore have a risk of theft almost double that of private vehicles. The study also notes an additional 13% increase in the theft of construction machinery, a phenomenon already observed last year.
But it is two-wheelers that remain the most exposed to theft, with a loss rate of 52 per 1,000 for scooters, 43 for motorcycles. Figures lower than last year, but still much higher than for cars.
If the most frequent thing is that two-wheeled vehicles are hijacked, in a truck for example, it is the electronic theft technique that has become essential for several years to steal cars. In 2022, this represented 88% of flights. On the plus side, the vehicles, when found, have sustained little damage, which reduces the cost of repairs to be made. We have yet to find them (see box).
Finally, what happens to the vehicles once stolen? First sector: export abroad, but the study also points to the resale of spare parts or the washing of vehicles, which makes it possible to create new and false documents to give it a second life in France. Rarer but still a reality: theft by organized crime to carry out operations such as robberies or “go fast”.
Cotoye Secure, how effective and with what budget?
By concealing a small, tissue-pack-sized tracker in a vehicle (car and two-wheeler), Coyote Secure shows recovery rates of 93% of vehicles within 48 hours of notification, while nearly 60% of stolen vehicles in France disappear in thin air.
On the budget side, you need 99 euros for installation and a subscription of 14.99 euros per month, or 450 euros for two years of service. Please note that some Coyote Secure partner insurers may reduce your auto insurance premium. And we can easily understand why. The annual cost linked to car thefts for insurers is estimated at around 780 million euros.
Source: BFM TV
