Facts + Statistics: Auto theft

Motor vehicle theft

The FBI includes the theft or attempted theft of automobiles, trucks, buses, motorcycles, scooters, snowmobiles and other vehicles in its definition of motor vehicle theft. About $6 billion was lost to motor vehicle theft in 2017. The average dollar loss per theft was $7,708. Motor vehicles were stolen at a rate of 237.4 per 100,000 people in 2017, virtually unchanged from 237.3 in 2016 but down 24.7 percent from 2008. In 2017, 773,139 vehicles were stolen, up 0.8 percent from 767,290 vehicles in 2016. One motor vehicle theft was reported every 40.9 seconds in the United States in 2017. 

Vehicle thefts have been trending downward in the 25 years since they peaked at 1.7 million in 1991, falling 46 percent to 765,484 in 2016, according to the FBI. The National Insurance Crime Bureau credits law enforcement efforts, along with the creation of specific antitheft programs, technology and insurance company-supported organizations such as the NICB for contributing to the theft reduction. However, there was an uptick in the number of vehicles stolen in 2015 and 2016, up by 3.8 percent and 7.4 percent, respectively. In addition, preliminary data from the FBI show that in the first half of 2017, vehicle thefts increased by another 4.1 percent.

Despite the reduction in vehicle thefts over the past two decades, industry observers caution that thieves constantly devise new and sophisticated means of stealing autos. Tactics include acquiring smart keys, which eliminated hot-wiring to steal cars; switching vehicle identification numbers; and using stolen identities to secure loans for expensive vehicles. The number of vehicles stolen with the key or keyless entry device left inside by the owner climbed 22 percent in 2015 to 57,096, according to the NICB.

Most stolen vehicles

The Honda Civic was the most frequently stolen passenger vehicle in 2017, with 45,062 thefts among all model years of this car, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB).  The bureau notes that most of these thefts were older models that lack the anti-theft technology of today’s models.  In fact, there were 6,707 thefts of the 1998 model year Civic, but only 388 of the 2017 Civics. The Honda Accord ranked second, with 43,764 thefts. Among 2017 model year vehicles, the Nissan Altima was the most frequently stolen vehicle in calendar year 2017, with 1,153 thefts, followed by the Toyota Camry with 1,100 thefts.