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 $6.4 billion was lost to motor vehicle theft in 2019. The average dollar loss per theft was $8,886. Motor vehicles were stolen at a rate of 219.9 per 100,000 people in 2019, down from 230.2 in 2018. In 2019, 721,885 vehicles were stolen, down 4.0 percent from 751,885 vehicles in 2018.

Vehicle thefts have been trending downward in the 26 years since they peaked at 1.7 million in 1991, falling 43 percent to 721,885 in 2019, 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,  auto theft appears to have increased considerably in 2020, compared with 2019, ending a two-year trend of decreasing auto thefts, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). The bureau released a preliminary analysis that indicates that the number of auto thefts in 2020 totaled 873,080, a 9.2 percent increase compared with 2019, when its data showed that 799,644 thefts were recorded. The NICB analyzed data from the FBI’s National Crime Information Center. It counts the pandemic, economic downturn, loss of juvenile outreach programs and public safety budgetary and resource limitations as contributing factors of the increase.

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. Also alarming is the finding that there were 229,339 vehicle thefts with keys or fobs left in the vehicles between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2018. According to the NICB, this represents a 56% increase in vehicle thefts with keys or fobs in the vehicle from the 147,434 vehicles stolen in this manner between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2015. The 2016 to 2018 vehicles stolen works out to 209 vehicles every day during those three years. The top five states with the most thefts with keys or fobs left in the vehicle during this period were California (31,185), Florida (17,300), Texas (15,511), Ohio (12,596) and Nevada (11,391).

The NICB also reports that thefts of catalytic converters, devices that convert the engine's environmentally hazardous exhaust into less harmful gasses, have been rising significantly. In 2018, there were 1,298 catalytic converter thefts reported, more than doubling to 3,389 in 2019. By 2020 they grew more than four-fold, soaring to 14,433 thefts, with December leading the way with 2,347 thefts, or roughly 16 percent of the yearly total. Catalytic converter theft repairs could cost thousands of dollars.

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.