Data shows favourite targets for regional car thieves

‘ Auckland thieves lusted after the Mazda Familia more than any other car.’ CHRISTOPHER WALSH, LEFT

LIVING up to its stereotype as a bogan hot spot, Waikato’s most stolen car is the Ford Falcon.

Meanwhile, in Canterbury, owners of Toyota Hilux are most likely to be targeted by thieves, according to analysis of police data by financial comparison website MoneyHub.co.nz.

Canterbury is also the stolencar capital of the country, with 831 vehicles stolen in the last six months of 2018. Across the country there were 3642 cars stolen during that period. Tasman had the fewest, with 51.

Nationwide, Toyota Hilux, Subaru Legacy and Subaru Impreza are the most stolen models (at least two every day) and Monday was the most common day of the week for cars to be stolen or reported stolen.

Findings from MoneyHub’s insurance analysis outline the extra insurance costs often associated with owning a car more likely to be stolen.

MoneyHub’s senior research Christopher Walsh said thieves had different preferences around the country. ‘‘Auckland thieves lusted after the Mazda Familia ... But in Waikato, the Ford Falcon was the most stolen car, and in Southland and Otago thieves preferred the Honda Civic,’’ Walsh said. In Wellington, the Mitsubishi Lancer was most favoured, while the Toyota Hilux was popular with thieves all over the country. In Canterbury there were 68 Toyota Hilux stolen in a six-month window.

Owners of Toyota Hilux, Subaru Impreza or Subaru Legacy could pay a lot more for insurance than for models less in demand by thieves, he said.

MoneyHub research found that policies for the same car in Auckland could cost twice as much for those in the regions.

The type of roads in a region could also affect premiums.

It also found that the cost of insuring a car in New Zealand continued to climb much faster than inflation.

Car owners could save as much as 15 per cent on their car insurance by electing to pay annually instead of monthly, it said.

Otago and Southland had the lowest number stolen cars per capita and Canterbury, Northland and Counties Manakau had the highest rate per capita.