Your car has never been so vulnerable to theft. What you can do about it?

An astonishing 132,489 cars were stolen last year in England and Wales – a 16-year high. James Foxall reports

Millions of us believe our car’s state-of-the-art security will keep it safe from thieves. And then, along with thousands of others, that apparently impregnable – and expensive – motor is stolen, often from under the owner’s nose.

For the first time since the 1990s, we’re seeing a sustained surge in car theft. Last year, the number of cars stolen in England and Wales hit 132,489 – a 16-year high. It’s resulted in some of our best-loved brands and most popular models becoming uninsurable because they’re so vulnerable to thieves.

Insurers are reporting record payouts, with claims for car crime at the highest level ever. Experts claim car makers are playing catch-up with security. And police appear so overwhelmed and understaffed that in many parts of the country the number of car crimes being solved ranges between zero and pitifully small.

In the 1990s, when the UK was known as the car crime capital of Europe (that title’s worn by Italy now), cars could be stolen in seconds by thieves armed with little more than a screwdriver. To stem a growing joyriding tide, lawmakers insisted new cars could only be sold if they had a built-in engine immobiliser.

This stopped cars being driven without the key. Stealing new cars then involved burgling properties or carjacking, neither of which was overly appealing to thieves, and car theft numbers slumped. Fast forward into the 2000s and evermore electronics in cars presented criminals with new opportunities.

This new generation of car thieves – more closely related to sophisticated computer hackers than their bent-metal-coat-hanger-wielding predecessors – are now demonstrating they can steal just about any car with insouciant and non-confrontational ease.

Clive Wain, a former police officer and police liaison at vehicle security company Tracker, said: “Cars are more at risk than ever and for a variety of reasons. Executive vehicles are worth a lot of money. The scarcity and cost of spares is also leading cars to be stolen and broken up for parts. And where organised crime thinks there’s a fertile hunting ground it’ll exploit that.”

Police agreed that gangs are increasingly playing a part. A National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) spokesperson said: “Intelligence suggests a large proportion of vehicle theft can be attributed to organised crime groups.”

How easy cars are to steal plays a part too. The latest crime wave is being driven by criminals exploiting the keyless entry systems that unlock without the driver touching the key.

Andy Davis, head of transport practice at car security experts NCC, explained: “The industry has known for more than a decade about this kind of theft and for a time it was slow to react. But it all comes down to consumer demand. Historically, people have cared a bit more about their own convenience than the security of their vehicles.

“Car companies do a risk assessment on new models. It all goes into a computer and an algorithm decides what’s worth doing. We’ve seen examples where car makers have saved pennies on the chips in keyless fobs but their lower level of encryption then makes the car easier to steal.”

Thieves have developed new techniques to exploit weaknesses in new car technology