Hilux tops most-stolen vehicle list
A Toyota Hilux is taken by thieves on average at least every day, according to a new report showing the ute remains the most-stolen vehicle in New Zealand.
Finance platform MoneyHub has analysed police data over six months to rank the vehicles most likely to get pinched and break down the figures for each region.
It says a vehicle is stolen every hour in New Zealand, with 4,373 taken between June 22 and December 20 this year.
The oldest vehicle targeted by criminals was an 83-year-old Ford pick-up, while a Maserati Levante and six pink cars were also pinched.
Christopher Walsh, MoneyHub’s head of research, says the latest data shows Hilux thefts now average more than one per day and the model also topped its charts last year.
Toyota dominates the stolen cars table, with eight of the top 20 models and four of the top five. Nearly one in three stolen cars is a Toyota, which represents 30.7 per cent of all car thefts, with 1,010 vehicles taken.
“Canterbury is the ute theft capital – the region is now the number one location for Hilux, Courier, Land Cruiser, Commodore and Navara thefts,” adds Walsh.
“Northland remains the highest-risk region per capita – 14 vehicles stolen per 10,000 people, nearly five times the rate of Southern, which was three per 10,000.”
Other highlights of the report are that the average stolen car is 22 years old and 70 per cent of vehicles taken are 15-plus years old. Only two per cent are newer than five years.
Silver, white and black vehicles accounted for 64 per cent of thefts over the six months studied. Meanwhile, Mondays emerged as the worst day for car theft with 722 vehicles stolen compared with Saturdays, which were next on 542.
‘Non-standard’ thefts
MoneyHub also lists a number of more unsual thefts among the data, including the oldest stolen car being a 1942 Ford pick-up taken in the Bay of Plenty.
Other notable vehicles included a 1971 Pontiac Le Mans and a 1974 purple Ford Falcon XB stolen in the Waikato, a 1966 Holden Premier taken in Waitemata and three Porsches – a Panamera and two Cayennes – being targeted in Canterbury.
It notes 90 BMWs were stolen over the six months, making it the most targeted luxury manufacturer, with Audis next on 54 and Mercedes-Benz with 44.
To read the full data and insights report from MoneyHub, click here.
Most-stolen vehicles
Thefts by region
