The most stolen vehicles in the United States for model year 2022-4 have been revealed by new research published by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI).
Chevrolets featured heavily taking three of the top 10 positions, including first place which was occupied by the Camaro ZL1. Also in the top 10 were vehicles produced by Acura, GMC, Ram and Land Rover. By contrast the 10 least stolen vehicles were primarily electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.
Newsweek contacted the Chevrolet, Acura, GMC, Ram and Land Rover press offices for comment on Thursday outside of regular office hours via email or online inquiry form.
Why It Matters
Some 850,708 vehicle thefts were reported in the U.S. in 2024, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, a 17 percent decrease on the previous year.
FBI data showed nearly 70,000 people were arrested for motor vehicle theft in 2022, including 2,000 who were carrying a firearm when arrested.
What To Know
On Friday, the HLDI published its list of the most stolen vehicles from the 2022-24 model years. The figures were based on motor vehicle theft claims, with the HLDI using the value insurers pay when the same vehicle is totaled in a crash to determine if the whole vehicle was stolen. Only these cases were included in the data and not other motor vehicles thefts.
The HLDI gave each car on its list a “relative frequency claim” (RFC) for theft, with the average across all vehicles included being 100.
The most stolen list was topped by the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, a powerful sports car, with an RFC of 3,949. This was stolen 39 times more often than the average vehicle according to the figures.
It was followed by the Acura TLX 4WD and the Chevrolet Camaro with RFC’s of 2,138 and 1,287 respectively.
In fourth place was the Acura TLX 2WD with an RFC of 805, then the GMC Sierra 3500 crew cab 4WD with 742 and the Chevrolet Silverado 3500 crew cab 4WD on 662.
The top 10 was completed by the Dodge Durango 4WD—on 592—the Land Rover Range Rover 4WD—with 540—and the Ram 1500 crew cab short-wheelbase 4WD on 524.
On the other side the least stolen HLDI list was primarily composed of electric and hybrid vehicles. This list was headed by the Tesla Model 3 4WD (RCF 1), the Tesla Model Y 4WD (RCF 2), the Tesla Model 3 2WD (RCF 3), the Toyota RAV4 Prime 4WD (RCF 5) and the Tesla Model S 4WD (also RCF 5).
The HLDI noted modern vehicles can be stolen using cloned versions of the owner’s key fob and noted media reports that Chevrolet vehicles have seemingly been impacted by a technical glitch that makes this easier.
According to FBI crime data, during the 2019-2023 period, the highest proportion of motor vehicle thefts were reported in Colorado, with 66.43 monthly per 100,000 citizens. This was followed by New Mexico and Washington in second and third place, with 42.05 and 41.48 monthly motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 people, respectively.
What People Are Saying
HLDI Chief Insurance Operations Officer Matt Moore said: “Muscle cars have often topped this list, as thieves are attracted to vehicles with high horsepower. That also helps explain why the more expensive, more powerful ZL1 is stolen so much more often than the standard Camaro.”
Referring to Camaro’s on the list, he added: “We expect powerful and high-value vehicles to be targeted, and these models check both those boxes. But it stood out to us that Camaros that were nearly 10 years old had such high claim frequencies.”
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