Posthaste: Auto theft is a 'national crisis' — the most and least stolen cars in Canada
The rate of auto theft has risen to a record high in the past year, but drivers can lower their chances of falling victim depending on what kind of car they drive, one industry group says.
The Honda CR-V SUV is the most stolen vehicle in Canada for a second-straight year, according to Équité Association, a non-profit focused on eliminating insurance crime for the property and casualty insurance industry. Rounding out the top three is the 2022 Dodge Ram 1500 series truck and the 2020 Ford F150 series truck.
Meanwhile, the top three vehicles least likely to be stolen are the Chevrolet Volt, the Kia Nino SDR and the Cadillac XTS.
Auto theft skyrocketed to new heights in 2022, rising 48 per cent in Ontario and 50 per cent in Quebec from the previous year, Équité Association said. Thefts also rose in Alberta, up 18.3 per cent, and in Atlantic Canada, rising 34.5 per cent from the prior year.
Those record rates of theft also drove record insurance claims, with the industry paying out $1.2 billion in claims last year, the association said.
It’s a problem unlikely to get better any time soon, with organized crime making Canada a top destination for auto theft, and criminals going on to use the proceeds to fund drug trafficking and terrorism, according to Équité.
“The auto theft problem in our country is getting worse,” Bryan Gast, vice president of Investigative Services at the association, said in a release. “Organized crime continues to look to Canada as a source nation for stolen vehicles where the financial reward is high and the risk of prosecution is low.”
Still, drivers can take steps to prevent theft, and knowing which cars get targeted most can prove helpful, especially for those people looking to buy a new vehicle.
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