Britain’s most stolen car and how thieves target motorists on own doorsteps

Thieves are using advanced technology to steal cars from driveways and streets – while the owners lie asleep in bed. 

Land Rovers have the dubious honour of being the most stolen vehicle in the country, with Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) statistics revealing one in every hundred Land Rovers were stolen in the year ending March 2023.

Around 8,284 Land Rovers were taken over that period – out of the 896,948 licensed Land Rovers in the UK.

This meant the vehicles were three times more likely to be stolen than the second most popular target for thieves, the Mercedes-Benz.

Many of the vehicles are taken using ‘relay attacks’ to access parked vehicles.  

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One piece of technology, available online for around £1,300, allows criminals to access and drive away in a stolen vehicle in just 90 seconds, the Sun reports.

Spates of these thefts have been reported across the country in recent months, including Teeside – which has seen a spate of crashes and other incidents involving the stolen vehicles. 

Speaking to TeesideLive, a spokesperson from Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) said: “Protecting our clients from this level of organised crime is our priority. We have a team of dedicated experts working closely with police and partners – our proactive approach enables us to support criminal investigations; spot emerging trends earlier; and quickly determine and roll out measures that counter this criminality.

“One such solution includes UWB (ultra wide band) technology – JLR were the first manufacturer to integrate this into our vehicles to prevent ‘relay attacks’ (keyless). Our cars featuring this technology have been independently verified by the Which? and the ADAC.

“Our production vehicles are equipped with industry-leading security systems, and vehicles are fitted with Secure Tracker vehicle tracking systems – recently being rated by Thatcham Research as ‘superior’.

“We recommend clients use all available measures to protect their vehicle, including our ‘remote’ app to access a suite of security features such as vehicle lock reminders, and ‘guardian mode’ which monitors the vehicle, providing an alert if there is any unauthorised interaction.”

Following the spate of incidents in Teeside, police in that area urged motorists to take precautions to prevent their vehicles being stolen.

These include keeping your car key/fob (and any spare) well away from the car when at home and considering buying a Faraday pouch – which blocks signals – for your keys or fob.

Other suggested measures include reprogramming your keys if you are buying a second hand vehicle and always manually checking your doors have locked before leaving your car.