As 2025 gathers pace, let’s take a look at what’s going on in terms of car crime – and how you can avoid being targeted.
The TLDR version.
Don’t want all the detail? Fair enough. The headline is that cars are being stolen more often, and recovered less often. The huge rise in keyless entry car crime is a big reason for this. So skip to the bottom and read the last section on protecting yourself.
The overall picture for car crime in 2025.
Let’s start with the good news (because there’s plenty of bad to get through too). Overall car theft is down 6%. There’s a ‘but’. And it’s a big but. The data from January 2024 showed a whopping 48% increase – so levels are still high. In fact, a recent Freedom of Information request found that, on average, a car was stolen every 5 minutes in 2024.
Of course, just because someone steals a car, that doesn’t mean they won’t be caught, so we need to look at the outcomes of these cases too…
More cars are being stolen. But do criminals get away with it?
Unfortunately, the answer is increasingly ‘yes’. This year it’s come to light that, according to Home Office data, 78.5% of car thefts go unsolved. That’s only the national average, though. Depending on where you are things might be a lot worse. In over a 100 neighbourhoods, no car thefts were solved at all in 2024.
So, not only are more cars being stolen – less are being recovered (although we’re helping with that).
What’s behind this worrying rise in car thefts?
There’s a number of factors. The economy has been in a tough place, and crime of all kinds generally goes up during downturns. The price of car parts has, in several cases, gone up way above inflation (due to supply chain disruption among other things). But perhaps the biggest reason is that cars are simply getting easier to steal.
But how can that be? As designs improve, shouldn’t cars be getting more secure? Unfortunately, it’s not worked out that way. Keyless entry may be convenient, and it may feel sleek and futuristic – but it’s also been something of a godsend for thieves. It’s been estimated that as much as 94% of cars stolen are keyless entry.
Am I at risk of car crime?
With car theft rising so dramatically, it’s fair to say that anyone could be at risk. However, given the above stats, you should be especially wary if:
- Your car is keyless entry.
- Your car is one of the most commonly stolen (see below).
- You own a van, or keep tools in it (thefts involving vans had been high recently).
- You live in or around one of the areas with high levels of car crime (see below).
The most commonly stolen cars.
In February 2025, we found out which were the most stolen cars in 2024. The list goes:
- Ford Fiesta.
- VW Golf.
- Ford Focus
- BMW 3 Series.
- Toyota Rav 4
- Mercedes C-Class.
- Range Rover Evoque.
- Nissan Juke
- Vauxhall Corsa.
- Range Rover Sport.
The areas with the highest rates of car crime.
According to info released by the DVLA in 2024, London, the Midlands and North West see more than their fair share of car crime. The top ten most affected areas are:
- Solihull
- Birmingham
- Slough
- Wolverhampton
- Ilford
- Harlow
- Sutton Coldfield
- Manchester
- Coventry
- Bristol
The takeaway? It’s more important than ever to protect your car.
What does this all mean? That you should be protecting your car.
- Read this guide and invest in a car lock. They are a good old fashioned headache even for tech savvy thieves.
- Use these tips to help protect yourself from keyless car crime – being especially sure to keep your keys in a faraday pouch away from your door.
- Protect yourself from parts theft, as thieves target catalytic converters and airbags. A ‘cat cage’ can be a good way to go – as can steering locks.
- Whenever possible park in a garage or behind a locked gate. If that’s not possible, try to use a spot that’s covered by cameras or well lit.
- Get a tracker. It may help you recover your car if stolen.
- Consider extra safety features.
