Heads up Honda owners! CR-V SUVs were the most stolen vehicles both across Canada and in Ontario last year, according to a new report.
On Wednesday, not-for-profit organization Équité Association, which works to reduce and prevent insurance fraud and crime across the country, released its annual list of the most popular vehicles stolen both nationally and regionally, based on data from 2022.
Last year, car thefts reached historic highs across the country with an increase of 48 per cent in Ontario and 50 per cent in Quebec, according to the organization.
Équité says the profits from these thefts are known to fund organized crime and terrorism, both domestically and internationally.
“The auto theft problem in our country is only getting worse. Organized crime continues to look to Canada as a source nation for stolen vehicles where the financial reward is high and the risk of prosecution is low,” Bryan Gast, VP, investigative services at Équité Association, said in a press release on Tuesday.
In addition, car thefts resulted in $1.2 billion in theft claims being paid out to Canada’s private auto insurers last year.
“At a time when inflation and affordability are putting undue pressure on consumers, Canadians are paying more to cover the costs associated with auto theft, whether it be law enforcement and court resources, the physical and emotional consequences, or overall economic costs,” Équité Association wrote on its website.
In Canada, for a second year in a row, the Honda CR-V SUV (2020 model) topped the list as the most popular vehicle stolen in 2022 with 5,620 thefts. The second most popular car stolen was the 2022 Dodge RAM 1500 Series (2,600 thefts), followed by the 2020 Ford F150 Series (1,833 thefts), the 2020 Lexus RX Series (1,815 thefts) and the 2021 Toyota Highlander (1,759 thefts).
“Notably, nine of the most popular model years stolen are 2019 or newer as criminals aim to maximize their profits by stealing newer vehicles to sell overseas or by re-VINing them to deceive unsuspecting Canadian buyers domestically,” Équité wrote.
Meanwhile, the 2020 Honda CR-V SUV also topped the list in Ontario with 2,684 thefts, followed by the 2020 Lexus RX Series (1,707 thefts), the 2022 Dodge RAM 1500 Series (1,405) the 2021 Toyota Highlander (1,344 thefts) and the 2020 Land Rover Range Rover (1,225).
Équité also released the least stolen vehicles in Canada last year with the Chevrolet Volt topping the list, with only one reported theft last year. In second place was the Kia Niro 5DR (three thefts), followed by the Cadillac XT5, the Buick Envision and the Mini Cooper Countryman, with each having only four thefts reported.
To prevent your car from being stolen, Équité recommends using a layered approach which includes, common sense steps (eg. locking car doors, never leaving keys in the ignition unattended), installing visible or audible anti-theft devices, installing a vehicle immobilizer and investing in a tracking system.
