Can you guess which are the most stolen cars?
I know what you’re thinking. “The most stolen car in the U.S. is the Toyota Camry or Honda Accord, *yawn*. Are we done here?” Well, hold up for just a second, as the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) just released a report on the most and least stolen cars in America. Now, this report concerns late-model cars between model years 2016 and 2018. When it comes to “whole-vehicle theft”, as the HLDI specifies, the picture is different than you may expect.
In short, make sure you keep your Dodge Charger or Challenger locked up tight in a secure garage, if you can.
“The models most likely to be stolen tend to be powerful, pricey or pickups, but vehicle theft is also a crime of opportunity,” says HLDI Senior VP Matt Moore. “Better security features on all vehicles would be the best way to address the problem.” To that end, some of the cars on this list could feasibly have better anti-theft protection. However, no matter how “secure” a car is, there’s always a chance someone could steal it. We’ll soon publish the flip side of this token, covering the least stolen cars in the country. Here’s the data, according to the HLDI report.
In the data, 100 on the “relative claim frequency” figure represents the average rate of theft, rather than the actual number of thefts. That means if a car ranks 300, say, it’s three times more likely to be stolen than the average car. This report also refers to whole vehicle theft, where people steal the car itself, rather than its parts.
Most stolen cars – HLDI report
Rank | Model | Relative claim frequency (100 = avg.) |
10 | Mercedes-Benz S-Class | 291 |
9 | Chrysler 300 AWD | 293 |
8 | Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Crew Cab | 320 |
7 | Nissan Maxima | 351 |
6 | Dodge Challenger | 358 |
5 | GMC Sierra 1500 | 393 |
4 | Infiniti QX80 | 422 |
3 | Infiniti Q50 | 525 |
2 | Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat | 529 |
1 | Dodge Charger HEMI | 544 |
Other cars on the most stolen list, perhaps unsurprisingly, includes the Range Rover, Dodge Durango, and trucks like the Nissan Titan. The Cadillac Escalade is conspicuously absent from this list, and HLDI contends that’s down to more competition from cars like the Range Rover and Infiniti QX80.
You can check out the whole report over on IIHS/HLDI’s website.