£3.4 million worth of cars stolen and recovered in Q2
The risk of car key theft continues to rise, reveals TRACKER, the UK’s leading stolen vehicle tracking and recovery systems specialist. In the second quarter of 2010, 83 per cent of cars recovered were stolen using the owner’s keys, which is a 3 per cent increase from the first quarter of the year. TRACKER’s figures also confirm that it’s not just prestige vehicles at risk from theft, and reminds owners that a good tracking device greatly increases the chances of a stolen vehicle’s recovery.
In Quarter 2 2010, the top three most commonly stolen and recovered models are Audi, Mercedes and BMW – remaining the thief’s firm favourites. However, the Audi A4 and Land Rover Discovery both made their first appearance in the top of the league. Meanwhile, the Land Rover Defender, Mercedes ML and Porsche Boxster, slipped out of the top ten stolen vehicles. London continues to be the UK’s hot spot for stolen vehicle recovery.
“As always, we want to remind motorists, that thieves don’t just target prestige brands, especially in the current economic climate,” says Stephen Doran, managing director for TRACKER. “The highest value stolen vehicle was a Rolls-Royce Phantom worth over £165,000, but at the other end of the scale, we also recovered a Ford Focus worth £5,000 and a Mazda MX5 worth £3,500. Consumers are looking for used car bargains and thieves will shift their targets to suit demand, which means everyone needs to protect their vehicle from theft.
“This year, we launched TRACKER Locate to bring vehicle owners a robust stolen vehicle recovery solution.As the most advanced tracking device now on the market, TRACKER Locate incorporates GSM, GPS and VHF technology in one unit, which means the chances of recovering a stolen vehicle quickly are greatly increased.”
Featuring three means of location and two means of communication, TRACKER Locate also has intelligent signal jamming detection and has been specifically designed for the stolen vehicle recovery market.
Operated by all 52 police forces, TRACKER can inform the police of the initial location of the stolen vehicle who can then employ the precision of the VHF technology to track a stolen vehicle to its exact location. Crucially, TRACKER Locate will alert TRACKER if there is any attempt to jam any of the communication channels. In addition, the unit is Thatcham TQA accredited, a verification programme of the quality, design and performance of automotive aftermarket devices.
