The 20 most-stolen cars in America, according to insurance data
The Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), a supporting organization of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), has released the findings of its latest research into whole-vehicle theft claims among 2022-24 model years, revealing which cars thieves tend to target through 2024.
The Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was determined to be the most frequently stolen — by a lot. The theft rate of the ZL1 was 39 times higher than that of the average car, according to the HDLI.
'Muscle cars have often topped this list, as thieves are attracted to vehicles with high horsepower,' Matt Moore, the IILS-HLDI chief insurance operations officer, explained in a release issued Thursday. 'That also helps explain why the more expensive, more powerful ZL1 is stolen so much more often than the standard Camaro.'
Aside from being a more desirable car in general, the HLDI says a 'glitch' allowed thieves to electronically clone a Camaro's key fob signal by accessing one of the car's ports. But officials have previously warned that certain devices can clone a key fob signal simply by being nearby.
'These devices are about the size of a cell phone and are a programming tool that picks up the signal of a key fob nearby which the device then clones,' the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) told Camaro owners in 2024, when announcing the arrest of an alleged car thief.
At the time, LAPD detectives advised keeping key fobs in protected cases, or even wrapping them in foil. The HLDI says some Camaro owners are also eligible for a software upgrade which can fix the issue.
Other cars from newer model years that were identified as the most-stolen in America include the Acura TLX 4WD, which is 21 times more likely to be reported as a whole-vehicle theft than the average car, and the regular Chevrolet Camaro model, which is 12 times more likely.
The 20 most-stolen cars in the U.S. (model years 2022–24)
Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Acura TLX 4WD
Chevrolet Camaro
GMC Sierra 2500 crew cab 4WD
Acura TLX 2WD
GMC Sierra 3500 crew cab 4WD
Chevrolet Silverado 3500 crew cab 4WD
Dodge Durango 4WD
Land Rover Range Rover 4WD
Ram 1500 crew cab short-wheelbase 4WD
Chevrolet Silverado 2500 crew cab 4WD
Ram 3500 crew cab long-wheelbase 4WD
Honda CR-V hybrid 4WD
GMC Sierra 1500 crew cab 2WD
Dodge Durango 2WD
GMC Sierra 1500 crew cab 4WD
BMW X7 4WD
Mercedes-Benz S-Class long-wheelbase 4WD
Jeep Gladiator crew cab convertible 4WD
Cadillac Escalade ESV 4WD
To come to its findings, analysts with the HLDI studied each model's frequency of whole-vehicle thefts, which the organization determines by 'comparing the dollar amounts of theft claims with what insurers pay for the same vehicles when they're totaled in a crash.'
The organization writes that insurance claims regarding theft usually don't indicate whether the whole car or parts was stolen.
Meanwhile, earlier this year, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) identified its own list of the most-stolen vehicles in 2024, albeit among any model year. Their findings identified the top five as the Hyundai Elantra, Hyundai Sonata, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Honda Accord, and Kia Optima. To determine its lists, the NICB has historically used information submitted by law enforcement agencies to the NICB.
More information from the HLDI's report, including some of the least-stolen car models, can be found at the organization's website.
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