2013 – Germany: Most Often Stolen Cars

Brown BMW X6
BMW X6 – Photo BMW AG

Volkswagen cars were the most often stolen in Germany in 2013, although owners of Land Rovers, Audi and BMW ran a much higher risk of being robbed. In 2013, 18,805 insured passenger vehicles were stolen – 0.5 out of every thousand insured cars. Large SUVs such as the BMW X6, Toyotas and Range Rovers remain firm favorites with car thieves in Germany while sporty BMW and Audi saloons are also in high demand. In contrast, Mercedes-Benz cars remained relatively unpopular with car thieves.

Car Theft in Germany in 2013

Car Theft in Germany MapAccording to statistics released by the Gesamtverband der Deutschen Versicherungswirtschaft (GDV / German insurance association), 18,805 insured cars registered in Germany were stolen in Germany in 2013. Car theft increased by 4% from 2012 but the overall numbers remained relatively low – in 1993 and 1994, over 100,000 cars were stolen in Germany but the number has remained below 20,000 since 2005. The risk of having a car stolen in Germany declined from 3.6 in 1000 in 1994 to 0.5 in 1000 in 2012 and 2013.

The largest number of cars was stolen in 2013 in the federal state North Rhine Westphalia – 3,870 cars with Berlin second at 3,213 cars. As before, car owners in Berlin had the highest theft risk: 3.5 cars stolen out of every 1000 cars insured.

The average insurance payout in 2013 was €14,000. In Hamburg, Germany’s richest state, the damage was on average €17,807 per car compared to less than €8,000 in Saarland.

The Most Popular Brands with Car Thieves in Germany

According to the GDV, the following brands were the most popular with car thieves in 2013:

Brand 2013 % Change 2012 2011 2010
1 Volkswagen 5949 3.1 5771 6736 6792
2 Audi 2841 24 2292 2624 2782
3 BMW 2748 -3.8 2857 2889 2573
4 Mercedes 1065 8.2 984 1023 1227
5 Skoda 758 -13.8 879 768 778
6 Toyota 758 -2.7 779 778 718
7 Opel 637 -10 708 744 767
8 Ford (Europe) 570 -7.5 616 665 648
9 Mazda 470 29.5 363 354 337
10 Renault 384 -19.5 477 520 378
11 Honda 383 12.6 340 323 287
12 Seat 263 2.3 257 368 324
13 Peugeot 196 16 169 203 184
14 Land Rover 192 540 30 N/A N/A
15 Fiat 189 -4.1 197 250 257
16 Citroen 183 18.1 155 164 130
17 Mitsubishi 170 42.9 119 83 90
18 Porsche 125 0.8 126 136 211
Source: GDV

Volkswagen, with a market share of well over a fifth of the German car new car market, was not surprisingly also the brand stolen more often than any other. Thefts of Audis increased by nearly a quarter in Germany in 2013 seeing Audi overtaking BMW to take the second position for the first time in three years.

Although thefts of Mercedes-Benz cars increased again in 2013, Mercedes-Benz cars remained fairly unpopular with car thieves in Germany compared to its share of the new car market.

Skoda, Toyota, Opel, Ford and Renault owners all saw a drop in car thefts in Germany in 2013 but only Renault moved a rank position. A strong increase in thefts of Mazda saw the Japanese manufacturer move up one position.

Noteworthy changes lower down the list concerned Land Rover and Porsche. Land Rovers were very popular with thieves in Germany with a 540% increase in the number of SUVs stolen in 2013 compared to a year ago. In contrast, Porsche continued to slip down the list, to a large extend due to improved anti-theft measures.

Relative Risk of Car Marques Getting Stolen in Germany

According to the GDV, the number of car stolen per thousand cars insured per brand in Germany in 2013 was as follows:

2013 Brand 2013 2012 2011 2010
1 Land Rover 3.1 x 0.4 0.5
2 Audi 1.2 1 1.2 1.3
3 BMW 1 1.1 1.2 1.1
4 Honda 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.7
5 Porsche 0.8 0.9 1 1.7
6 VW 0.8 0.8 0.9 1
7 GM 0.7 x 0.7 1.2
8 Mazda 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.4
9 Toyota 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6
10 Ford (USA) 0.6 x 0.8 0.5
11 Jaguar 0.6 x 0.6 0.4
12 Skoda 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.8
13 Mitsubishi 0.4 0.3 0.2 x
14 Seat 0.4 0.4 0.6 0.5
15 Chrysler 0.4 x 0.5 0.5
16 Mercedes 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4
17 Citroen 0.3 0.2 0.2 x
18 Renault 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2

Land Rover had the distinction of coming from nowhere a year ago to right at the top of the car brand most likely to be stolen given the number of cars of the marque on German roads. In 2011, Land Rover was 14thon the list with a risk of only 0.4 per 1000. The 540% increase was actually two-and-a-half times more than the number of Land Rover cars stolen in total.

Audi was again the second most popular brand with car thieves in Germany but last year’s number one, BMW, slipped to third. Honda remained at fourth while Porsche continued its downward trend by slipping two more positions last year. VW went down one place courtesy of Land Rover’s meteoric rise.

GM figures exclude Opel and Ford (USA) excludes Fords produced in Europe. No one seems interested in a stealing an Opel or a Ford – the risk here is around 0.2 per 1000.

Mercedes-Benz slipped even further down the list of popularity with car thieves in Germany. With only 0.3 Mercedes-Benz cars out of every 1000 insured stolen, it is hard to determine whether it should be a compliment to Mercedes anti-theft measures or a reflection of thieves’ impressions of Mercedes-Benz styling. Mercedes-Benz owners should benefit, as insurance claims have a direct influence on premiums charged.

Most Popular Car Models with Thieves in Germany in 2013

The following were the most-popular car models with car thieves in Germany in 2013 according to the number of cars stolen per 1000 insured:

Brand Model Stolen per 1000 Average Claim in €
1 BMW X6 Xdrive 40D 21.9 47’404
2 Toyota Lexus RX350 15.2 49’006
3 BMW X70 (X5/X6 3.0 SD) 14.9 39’093
4 BMW M390 (M3 Coupe) 13.1 37’101
5 Land Rover Range Rover Sport 2.7 TD 11.4 43’252
6 Toyota Land Cruiser 3.0 D 10.4 39’678
7 Land Rover Range Rover 3.0 TD 10.2 52’695
8 Audi S4 Avant 3.0 9.5 38’420
9 Volkswagen T4 Caravelle, Multivan 2.5 TDI 8.4 13’887
10 Volkswagen T5 Multivan California 1.9 TDI 7.9 18’521
11 BMW 335D 7.2 26’147
12 Audi S3 1.8T Quattro 6.6 9’197
13 Toyota Land Cruiser 3.0 D-4D 6.5 27’705
14 Audi S6 5.2 Quattro 6.3 34’175
15 Honda CR-V 2.0 6.3 20’295
Average for all insurance claims 0.5 14’033

Unfortunately, the GDV did not disclose the actual numbers of cars stolen per model but the relative risk of number stolen per 1000 insured also makes for interesting reading.

The car models most-often stolen in 2013 in Germany remained to a large extend similar to the previous two years. The BMW X6 has been at the top of the list the last three years but the risk has slipped from 26.6 in 2012 to 21.9 this year.

New on the list are the Land Rover and Audi models. The Range Rover had the highest claim per car stolen of the top 15. All three Audis are the high-performance models – buyers of smaller engines clearly run a lower theft risk.

As some cars such as the T4 and T5 aged, the value of the insurance claims had also slipped. It was most marked in the BMW M3 – the average claim in 2013 was €37,000 in 2013 compared to €47,000 in 2012 and €50,000 in 2011.

It will be interesting to see how Land Rover responds to the statistics. Porsche was the favorite brand of thieves in 2010 but has since slipped to fifth. In 2010, three Porsche Cayennes were amongst the top ten cars most often stolen in Germany but since then no Porsche model had featured on the list.

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