The Toyota Aqua is considered by criminals to be an easy vehicle to steal.
The Toyota Aqua is considered by criminals to be an easy vehicle to steal.
Car theft claims skyrocketed to new highs in 2022, with a total of 884 claims made to insurance company AMI in the Waikato.
The top spot for the most common stolen vehicle in the region is shared by the Toyota Corolla and Toyota Aqua, AMI says.
AMI claims executive general manager Wayne Tippet says the company received 8492 claims for vehicle thefts across New Zealand in 2022 - this is up 43 per cent from the year before, and up 54 per cent from 2019.
“Virtually all of these cars are recovered, so it’s likely they’re being stolen for joy rides or to commit other crimes, such as burglaries,” says Tippet.
The Waikato region ranks third in terms of the number of car theft claims, behind Canterbury in second place with 1214 claims and Auckland in the top spot with 2986 claims.
The regions with the lowest numbers of thefts are Marlborough and the West Coast, which AMI has excluded from the rankings due to the low numbers.
AMI executive general manager claims, Wayne Tippet.
The Toyota Aqua, also known as the Toyota Prius C, has taken the top spot from the Mazda Demio as the nation’s most frequently stolen car. They are closely followed by the Nissan Tiida, as the Mazda Atenza (Mazda 6), Toyota MarkX, Toyota Vitz, Subaru Legacy, Toyota Corolla, Subaru Impreza and Mazda Familia make up the rest of the top 10.
“There are some things you can do to make your car less attractive to thieves, such as locking it, removing any valuables and parking off-street or in a busy, well-lit area. Immobilisers are good, but if your car doesn’t have one installed, steering locks are effective deterrents too,” Tippet says.
He also recommends checking the sum insured on your insurance policies is up to date.
“So, if the worst happens and your car is stolen and written off, you want to make sure that your sum insured is at an appropriate level for your car.”
