It's cold in the back.
Every four minutes, a vehicle is stolen on French territory, according to the Coyote Secure Observatory, which has been compiling a multitude of data since 2017.
After a decade marked by a certain stability, even a drop during the period of recent confinements, this traffic is once again very active, recording a significant increase of +9%.
This is how 133,800 vehicles disappeared in 2022, 70% of which were private vehicles.
Stolen models perfectly reflect the new car market.
The thugs stole the majority of SUVs (67%), the preferred silhouette of motorists, and this is new, models equipped with the latest electrified technologies, whether hybrid or plug-in hybrid engines.
The theft of this type of vehicle is up 40%.
These thefts fuel the trafficking of spare parts or sales channels abroad, whether in the Baltic countries, certain countries in Eastern Europe or the Maghreb.
The analysis of the results shows that commercial vehicles present twice the risk of theft than private vehicles.
The phenomenon is not new, but construction machinery is still highly sought after by thieves.
Their loss rate increased by 13% to reach 26 per 1,000. As for motorized two-wheelers, they were not spared either with a loss rate of 45 per 1,000.
The three major cities most affected
Unsurprisingly, the three main French regions - Paris Île-de-France, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes - concentrate the majority of flights (52%).
These regions, already the most affected, continue to record a significant increase: + 12% in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, +11% in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and +4% in Île-de-France.
This is not good news, regions hitherto less exposed are no longer spared by this scourge.
This is how the number of thefts exploded in Brittany (+ 29%), in the Centre-Val de Loire region (+ 21%) and in Burgundy-Franche-Comté (+ 14%).
Another subject of concern which should be taken up by both the public authorities and the manufacturers: the ease with which the thugs seize a vehicle.
It takes less than a minute for thieves to disappear.
The image of the car thief armed with a crowbar to open a door, a screwdriver to pry the switch, and a knife to strip the wires of the switch in order to make splices, is over.
The vast majority of thefts are made using sophisticated electronic equipment, often freely available on the Internet.
Nearly 9 out of 10 vehicles were stolen in 2022 thanks to these technologies.
Coyote reminds that tracker type geolocation systems, if they do not constitute all-risk insurance,
greatly increase the probability of finding his vehicle and at the same time of dismantling a sector.
While 60% of stolen vehicles in France are never found, the Coyote Secure solution makes it possible to recover 91% of stolen vehicles within 48 hours.
In 93% of cases, these vehicles are returned to their owner with little or no damage.
