Most stolen cars of 2023 REVEALED: A vehicle was pinched every 8 minutes last year – is yours in the top 10?

A car was stolen in Britain every 8 minutes 12 seconds on average last year as motor theft rose by almost 5 per cent.

The latest reported increase in vehicle crime comes amid the recent spike in keyless car thefts, which is now the most common tactic used by organised criminals to steal the latest motors of all values.

A total of 64,087 cars were reported stolen to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in 2023, up from 61,106 the year previous (an increase of 4.9 per cent), exclusive data shared with MailOnline and This is Money shows. 

The figures detail which 10 models were most commonly pinched and reveal a big decline in Range Rover thefts – news that has been welcomed by parent company Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) when we broke it to them, and will undoubtedly be celebrated by owners of its vehicles.

However, keepers of one particular German executive saloon might need to keep an eye on their cars, with DVLA data revealing a 30 per cent spike in thefts.

Is your car in the list of the most stolen models of last year? We reveal the 10 that were pinched in the biggest numbers as DVLA stats reveal a big decline in Range Rover thefts

The Ford Fiesta – Britain’s most owned car – was reported stolen most frequently last year, according to DVLA records obtained by car leasing comparison site LeaseLoco.

Given there is around an estimated 1.5million on the road today, it comes as no shock to see the Fiesta appear at the top the list, with 5,976  reported as having been taken without the consent of owners last year.

This was three fewer thefts than in 2022, when 5,979 were unlawfully taken, the figures reveal following a freedom of information request to the government agency. 

Most stolen cars of 2023 revealed 

1. Ford Fiesta – 5,976 stolen (DOWN 0.1% compared to 2022)

2. Ford Focus – 2,120 stolen (DOWN 3.0% compared to 2022)

3. VW Golf – 2,038 stolen (UP 0.1% compared to 2022)

4. Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 1,786 stolen (UP 29.6% compared to 2022)

5. Range Rover Sport – 1,631 stolen (DOWN 28.6% compared to 2022) 

6. Range Rover Evoque – 1,489 stolen (DOWN 2.8% compared to 2022) 

7. BMW 3 Series – 1,466 stolen (DOWN 0.8% compared to 2022)

8. Vauxhall Corsa – 1,110 stolen (DOWN 13.3% compared to 2022)

9. Vauxhall Astra – 1,086 stolen (DOWN 12.4% compared to 2022)

10. Land Rover Discovery Sport – 954 stolen (UP 15.2% compared to 2022)

Source: DVLA reported motor vehicle thefts in 2023 (1 Jan 2023-31 Dec 2023)  data supplied to LeasoLoco via FOI request 

On average, 16 Fiestas were stolen every day last year – or one every 88 minutes.

And there are major concerns that Fiestas could be increasingly targeted in 2024 and the years after following Ford’s recent decision to cease production of the incredibly popular small car.

The final Fiesta came off the Cologne assembly line last summer, which triggered warnings from vehicle crime experts that it could instantly become more appealing to criminals to steal and break down into spares now that Ford is no longer making parts for the nation’s most popular model.

The Ford Fiesta is  the most stolen car of 2023. Given it is the most common motor on our roads, this won’t come as a huge surprise. However, vehicle theft experts have warned it could become increasingly targeted by thieves over the coming years

‘Criminals have been quick to jump on this opportunity, lucratively selling on stolen Ford Fiesta parts on the black market,’ Clive Wain, a former detective chief superintendent and now head of police liaison at Tracker, told This is Money previously.

John Wilmot, chief executive of LeaseLoco, which issued the FOI for vehicle theft data to the DVLA, said: ‘Logically, with fewer new Fiestas on the roads, we might have expected to see thefts fall last year. 

‘However, Ford’s decision to discontinue the popular small hatchback could well have sparked an increase in demand for second-hand parts, making them a hot target for thieves.’

A study by Go.Compare last year found that almost half (48 per cent) of all UK police forces listed the Fiesta as the car most commonly reported stolen in their areas in 2022 – up from less than a third (30 per cent) in 2019. 

The Ford Focus (2,120 thefts, down 3.0 per cent) and VW Golf (2,038, up 0.1 per cent) – two other examples of widely-owned models in Britain – completed the podium of most-nicked cars.

Second and third in the list of most stolen cars is the Ford Focus (left) and VW Golf (right). Like the Fiesta in first place, these are very common models in Britain

How criminals steal cars using relay tactic

Around half of all car thefts in the UK today are carried out using relay attacks on keyless cars, insurers have estimated 

To target new – and often high-end – motors, thieves are arming themselves with cheap technology that allows them to take cars without having to step foot into someone’s property to take the keys.

Keyless entry and keyless ignition means a driver only needs to have the car’s key on their body – in their pocket for instance – not only to unlock the doors but to start the engine.

While this is a convenience feature, it is also one that leaves owners susceptible to car crime. 

Usually two thieves will work together when planning to pinch a car with keyless tech. One holds a transmitter and stands next to the car while the other stands close to the house holding an amplifier.

The amplifier can boost the signal from the key inside the property and send it to the transmitter. 

The transmitter essentially becomes a ghost key and tricks the car into thinking the real key is nearby. This then opens the car and allows it to be driven away without causing any damage.

Insurers have estimated that around half of all car thefts are currently conducted in this way because criminals can do it quickly and in near silence, with gangs usually targeting vehicles in the middle of the night without raising suspicion.

Across all Range Rover variants (Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Velar and Evoque) thefts dropped by around 20% in 2023, according to DVLA records

Decline in Range Rover thefts

While the Fiesta, Focus and Golf are all predicable sights at the top of the vehicle theft charts – attributing to the high number of examples on the road today – the same can’t be said about Range Rovers.

The premium SUVs are beloved by the wealthy, footballers and – it seems – vehicle thieves.

For the last few years, they have been listed among the most stolen motors.

This has been linked to a combination of their desirability with criminals – especially as many are stolen to order and then loaded into containers to be exported to Africa and other overseas regions where demand is high – and a suggested ease of infiltrating security systems.

However, the number of all Range Rover variants (including Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Velar and Evoque) stolen in 2023 declined by almost 20 per cent compared to 2022, the data shows.

It suggests recent efforts and investments by JLR to bolster the anti-theft systems in its cars is having an impact.

The most commonly stolen Range Rover last year was the Range Rover Sport, with 1,631 pinched in 2023, down from 2,283 in 2022 – a decline of 28.6 per cent. 

This volume of thefts places it fifth in the overall rankings. In 2022, it was second only to the Fiesta.

The Range Rover Sport was the fifth most-stolen car of 2023 with 1,631 thefts. That’s a decline of 28.6% year-on-year 

Behind the Sport was the Evoque, with a 2.8 per cent year-on-year fall in cars taken from their rightful owners, amounting to 1,489 thefts in 2023.

The standard Range Rover and Range Rover Velar didn’t make it into the the top 10 list, with 771 and 560 thefts. However, it is worth noting that these were yearly declines of 27.2 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.

JLR says figures from the Police National Computer Data also show a similar downward trend of thefts of Range Rover vehicles, with a 26 per cent reduction between November 2022 and the same month last year. 

However, the Land Rover Discovery Sport did squeeze into the top 10 order of stolen motors in 2023 with a 15.2 per cent year-on-year increase in thefts that saw 954 go missing.

The smallest Range Rover, the Evoque, was sixth in total recorded thefts in 2023, with a 2.8 per cent year-on-year fall in cars taken from their rightful owners, DLVA stats show

It comes just months after JLR confirmed it is spending £10million retrofitting some of its older cars to upgrade them to the latest – hi-tech – security systems to block the recent spate of breaches of driverless system.

Since January 2022, only 0.07 per cent of new Range Rover and Range Rover Sports on the road with the latest security setup have been stolen, while only 0.3 per cent of new Defenders had been affected since 2020, JLR told us.

Its models dating back to 2018 are eligible for the security upgrade free of charge, with some 74,500 customers already taking advantage of the offer, a spokesperson explained.

The brand also exclusively revealed to This is Money it is providing ‘hundreds of thousands of pounds’ in funding to police forces to help them to tackle the flow of stolen vehicles swiftly being exported out of the country.

DVLA figures analysed by LeaseLoco show Land Rover Discovery Sport thefts increased in 2023, with over 900 being taken from their keepers

The scale of Range Rover thefts has become such an issue in recent years that some owners, particularly those in London, have faced excessive increases in their motor insurance premiums.

In fact, some insurers have refused to cover the cars in the capital over concerns about the high risk of crime.

As such, JLR was forced in October to launch its own insurance cover for customers, which provided an ‘average monthly premium of less than £200’. 

Some 8,000 Range Rover owners are currently using this solution, though there are cases where drivers have been rejected by the company’s own insurance package.

Owners will now be hoping the reported decline in thefts of these motors will have an impact on their insurance premiums. 

Patrick McGillycuddy, JLR UK managing director, told us: ‘The rapid decline in Range Rover thefts in the last year, demonstrates the strength of our latest vehicle security measures.

‘These significant reductions are a result of engineering our new vehicles to be robust against all known theft methods through the latest anti-theft technology, endorsed by third party experts like Thatcham.

‘In fact, our latest data shows that only ten out of 12,200 of the latest model of Range Rovers have been stolen since January 2022.

‘We have also invested £10million to update more than 75,000 older client vehicles with the latest security features and we will continue to roll out the latest updates to tens of thousands more nationwide.

‘JLR is also funding hundreds of thousands of pounds on additional policing to tackle the root causes – by stopping the flow of stolen cars in and out the country, to benefit all UK drivers.’

Of the top 10 most stolen cars in Britain last year, the Mercedes C-Class is the one that has seen the biggest rise. Thefts rose by almost 30% year-on-year with over 1,780 pinched in 2023

Big spike in Mercedes C-Class thefts 

The model in the top 10 that saw the biggest annual jump in thefts was the Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

The 1,786 cars reported stolen to the DVLA in 2023 was 29.6 per cent higher than the year previous (1,378) and is by far the most significant increase among the league table of models most commonly pinched.

‘C-Class owners need to continue to be extra vigilant to avoid becoming a victim of crime,’ LeaseLoco’s Wilmot warned.

This is Money contacted Mercedes-Benz UK regarding the apparent rise in C-Class thefts. A spokesperson for the German car giant said: ‘We’re not able to comment without more information on the age and specification of the cars included in the DVLA data.’

The seventh most-pinched motor last year was BMW’s 3 Series. Some 1,466 were taken by criminals in 2023

Vauxhall’s popular Corsa (left) and Astra (right) also made it into the top 10 most-stolen cars of 2023. There are hundreds of thousands of each on Britain’s roads today, meaning they’re ripe for criminals

The remaining car models making up the top 10 most stolen of 2023 include the BMW 3 Series (1,466, down 0.8 per cent), Vauxhall Corsa (1,110, down 13.3 per cent) and Vauxhall Astra (1,085, down 12.4 per cent).

The DVLA records also revealed that 43 Ferraris were reported stolen by owners to the DVLA last year, as were 51 Porsche 911s.

Some 14 Lamborghinis were confirmed pinched and 29 Tesla owners had their electric cars taken by criminals.

Our top five security tips to keep your car secure from thieves

1. Keep your key fob well away from your vehicle – and store it in a Faraday wallet

If you own a car with keyless tech, to best protect it against relay theft tactics, always place the keyfob as far away from the vehicle as you can and store it in a location that is not close to doors or windows in your property.

Halfords sells faraday pouches for £5

Even keeping them upstairs or in a room that’s the furthest distance from your driveway will not guarantee that a criminal using relay tactics won’t be able to infiltrate the signal.

For the best level of protection, owners of cars with keyless tech should purchase a Faraday pouch or wallet.

You can buy these online for as little as £5. They isolate the key fob’s signal so it can’t be replicated by thieves.

Metal tins and boxes will also provide similar protective levels, as will keeping your key fob in a fridge freezer, microwave or oven – just remember they are in there before turning on the latter two. 

Also, don’t forget about your spare keys and apply the same level of care you would to your main keys or fob.

Keeping your keyless fob in a tin will block the signal and prevent thieves from duplicating it to break into your vehicle

2. Invest in extra anti-theft protection

A simple steering wheel lock or wheel clamp might look ugly but are a great tool to deter even the hardiest criminals with the most tech.

They will act as a visual deterrent for thieves who will likely avoid them.

For a criminal to remove a steering wheel lock typically requires the use of noisy drills or saws to cut through, and therefore they are the ideal first line of defence for owners with models that have keyless car tech.

Drivers should also consider wheel clamps as well as having alarm systems and trackers (read more about these below) installed. 

Owners of vans with keyless technology should also consider fitting deadbolts for additional protection, especially if they store expensive tools and items in their commercial vehicles overnight. 

3. Be mindful when locking the doors 

It may sound simple but always make sure your vehicle is locked every time you leave it – especially in busy car parks where thieves often use signal blockers.

Many drivers also don’t realise that on some vehicle models if you press your key fob only once your car will only be single locked.

This means that if you smashed the window you could manually open the car by reaching in and pulling the handle from the inside. 

To double lock, key fobs can require a second press of the locking button to engage the full security features. It is important to read your car’s manual when you first get it and familiarise how to securely lock your car when you’re not in it.

4. Think carefully about where you park overnight

If you park your car on the street, finding a spot under a street lamp is one way of trying to deter a thief

Most often, keyless car thefts take place on owners’ driveways. While motorists might think having their vehicle in such close proximity to their property guarantees its security, this is certainly not the case when it comes to relay thefts – quite the contrary, in fact, as it means the car is closer to where they keys are inside your home.

That’s why owners with off-street parking should consider additional measures. 

Driveway parking posts are a cheap but efficient way of deterring would-be thieves. 

Drivers can also go one step further and install lockable gates in their driveway, while simple CCTV systems can provide further peace of mind. 

Luxury cars, which are at greater risk of theft, should be parked in a locked garage where possible.

For those without off-street parking who leave their cars on the road outside their home, you are also not safe from these criminals.

Consider parking further away from your property than usual – and try to find a space under a streetlight so that thieves are exposed when trying to steal your car at night.

If you live on a residential street where there are also business, park outside one with a CCTV camera installed. 

5. Install a tracking device in your car

Installing a tracker system in your vehicle, such as a Thatcham approved device, offers an extra layer of security. 

A tracking device won’t stop your vehicle being stolen, but it significantly increases the chances of the police recovering and returning it to you.

They cost from between £250 and £800 and the most secure use military-grade tech to locate the whereabouts of cars.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk