Since 2017, the Coyote Theft Observatory has been sharing the information gathered by Coyote Secure, which specializes in the recovery of stolen vehicles, cars and motorcycles. In 2022, there were 133,800 vehicle thefts in France, i.e. one every four minutes, a figure up 9% compared to the previous year.
Île-de-France, far ahead of other regions
When we look at the loss ratio by region, we quickly realize that Île-de-France remains far ahead of the others. Indeed, there are 5.9 thefts per 1000 vehicles, while the PACA region has a very high rate of 4.2/1000. The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region comes in third place with a high rate of 2.9/1000, slightly ahead of Hauts-de-France (2.8/1000) and Pays de la Loire (2.7/1000 ).
The first three regions alone concentrate 52% of the thefts declared on the territory and also record an increase in thefts compared to the previous year, respectively +4%, +12% and +11%. More surprisingly, the regions historically the least affected such as Brittany, the Centre-Val de Loire region and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté recorded increases of +29%, +21% and +14%.
SUVs and hybrids in the crosshairs
Not surprisingly, the vast majority of vehicle thefts involve passenger cars. However, not all models are created equal.
The SUV segment is particularly suffering from its commercial success, with a rate of 3.2/1000, ahead of city cars (2.6/1000) and sedans (1.7/1000). But the most impressive remains the share that SUVs represent among stolen vehicles: 67% of thefts involve an SUV!
The most significant increase concerns hybrid vehicles, which suffer from a high loss ratio of 3.3/1000, which represents a 41% increase in the risk of theft compared to 2021. If you own a hybrid SUV, beware, as this type of car looks particularly attractive to thieves.
If the theft of two-wheelers, motorcycle as scooter, represents a lower volume, the rate is for its part hallucinating: 52 thefts for 1000 scooters and 43 for motorcycles. We can only recommend motorcyclists and scooter riders to protect their mount well.
Once stolen, the loot is often hidden (43% of cases) under cover or underground, making it difficult to locate. Then, the stolen vehicles are often exported to West Africa, North Africa, the Baltic countries or Eastern Europe to supply the local market. They can also be disassembled to supply the black market for spare parts, but are rarely put back into circulation after falsification of identification data. Finally, it is also possible that the stolen cars join war zones or are used for organized crime (terrorism, robbery, go-fast).
We can never repeat it enough, it is important to protect your property in order to limit the risk of theft. If no solution is inviolable, the objective is to waste the thief’s time in order to dissuade him from perpetrating his crime. Multiplying the protections seems to be the best solution. A geolocation system is also an asset, making it easier for law enforcement to recover your car or motorcycle.
Coyote offers its own solution, proudly claiming to recover 91% of stolen vehicles equipped with the Coyote Secure service, which costs €14.99/month in addition to €99 for installation.