Range Rover most popular stolen car in 2020

Despite headlines rife with stories about Defender thefts, it is the Range Rover that continues to be the most-stolen vehicle in the UK, according to the latest data from Tracker.

In fact, Land Rover models have dominated Tracker’s top 10 most-stolen and recovered models for five years now, with the Range Rover Sport consistently appearing in the top five: this year it topped the charts, while the Range Rover Vogue and Discovery ranked third.

The data also showed that the thieves don’t even need the keys to the vehicle, as they reverse-engineer the security tech. In fact, 96 per cent of cars recovered by Tracker were (between January and July) stolen without keys, compared to 92 per cent during the same period last year.

Clive Wain, head of Police Liaison for Tracker, said: “It took 80 seconds to steal a £120,000 Range Rover that was fitted with one of our tracking devices from a supermarket car park in Walthamstow, London. It was daylight, and not one person noticed what the thieves were doing.

“The car was recovered within 24 hours and it appeared that the thieves had searched for tracking devices before leaving the vehicle parked unoccupied to see if the police would track its whereabouts. Because the Tracker device was professionally installed, the thieves were unable to find it, leaving the police to quickly track its location.”

These gangs generally steal to order for a few reasons: for export, often to Eastern Europe, for their identity to be changed and the vehicle sold on within the UK; for parts, which is a growing problem and where the vehicle is stripped down; and to be used in further crimes. Despite many vehicles being parked at home during lockdown, it’s not proved a barrier to determined criminals so we urge owners of all Land Rovers to go to extra lengths to protect their vehicles.