America’s most popular car is also America’s most stolen car. Ford’s hot-selling F-Series again topped the list of the 10 most stolen cars in the United States, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), and vehicle thefts alarmingly jumped by 11% in 2020.
NICB explained that it compiles its annual “Hot Wheels” report by analyzing vehicle theft data submitted by law enforcement agencies to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). Using this data, it gave the F-Series the dubious honor of being the most stolen car in America in 2020 with 44,014 thefts reported; that’s a 13% increase compared to 2019. Surprisingly, thieves preferred trucks from the 2006 model year.
Like on the sales chart, number two on the list is Chevrolet’s full-size truck; the report doesn’t differentiate light- and heavy-duty models. 40,698 units were stolen in 2020, a stunning 25.7% increase that allowed the Silverado to bump the Honda Civic to third place. Thieves preferred the 2004 model. As for the Civic, 34,144 thefts were reported, a 2.8% increase, and models from 2000 were the most stolen.
The Honda Accord, the Toyota Camry and the Nissan Altima finished in fourth, fifth and sixth place, respectively. Oddly, the Accord is the oldest car on the list, with thieves preferring the 1997 model, while the most stolen Altima in 2020 was the 2020 model. Seventh place went to the GMC Sierra, which trails its Silverado sibling with 13,016 thefts, while the eighth car on the list is the Toyota Corolla. Here again, thieves seemingly like modern comfort and technology features: 2020 models were stolen more often than cars from any other year.
Wrapping up the top 10 is the Honda CR-V, whose number of thefts increased by 21.9% in 2020 compared to 2019, and the Dodge/Ram trucks. Ram has been a standalone brand for years, but thieves primarily sought-out the 2001 Dodge-branded truck.
State-specific data is available as well, and there are a few surprises hidden in the report, like three Subaru models on Alaska’s top 10. Thefts were relatively low in The Last Frontier, however. Michigan’s most stolen car was the Dodge Charger, with 755 thefts reported, and 94 people stole a Mitsubishi Mirage in Puerto Rico. There were no European cars on any of America’s top 10 lists.
NICB doesn’t provide information about how these cars were stolen. However, it warns motorists to use common sense, notably by removing their keys from the ignition, locking their doors and parking in a well-lit area if possible, to use some kind of theft-deterrent device like an alarm or a steering wheel lock and to consider installing a kill switch. Vehicle trackers are also a proven way to recover stolen cars.
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Source: www.autoblog.com