Car thefts are up, and Ford pickups are the most stolen vehicles
Ford full-size trucks are the most popular vehicles in the US, so it's not surprising to see them top the list for theft.
For the second year running, Ford full-size pickup trucks are the most stolen vehicles in the US. In 2020, vehicle thefts increased by 11%, with a whopping 44,014 Ford trucks jacked. Yikes. The latest data comes from the National Insurance Crime Bureau and its annual Hot Wheels auto theft report, which highlighted the increase in auto thefts amid the pandemic.
To break the figures down into more easy-to-swallow information, someone stole a car every 36 seconds in 2020. It's easy to conclude from the data that thieves are more attracted to pickup trucks, but keep in mind that trucks are some of the most popular vehicles on the road these days. Chevy pickups saw an even larger increase, with 26% more of them stolen last year compared to 2019, while Fords saw a 14% increase. Dodge/Ram pickups clocked a 6.2% rise in thefts.
Aside from trucks, car thieves are still very much into Japanese sedans. The top-10 list includes popular cars like the Honda Accord, Civic, Toyota Camry and Corolla. SUVs don't have too much representation, with only the Honda CR-V nabbing a spot on the most stolen vehicle list -- the CR-V's thefts increased by 22% between 2019 and 2020. More often than not, the stolen trucks are from the 2000s and are not brand-new models. Oddly enough, many of the Japanese sedans are new: The most common model year stolen for compact cars was 2020.
Top 10 stolen vehicles in 2020
| Rank | Make/Model | Thefts | Increase from 2019 | Common model year stolen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ford full-size pickup | 44,014 | 13% | 2006 |
| 2 | Chevrolet full-size pickup | 40,968 | 26% | 2004 |
| 3 | Honda Civic | 34,144 | 3% | 2000 |
| 4 | Honda Accord | 30,814 | 0.20% | 1997 |
| 5 | Toyota Camry | 16,915 | 8% | 2019 |
| 6 | Nissan Altima | 14,668 | 10% | 2020 |
| 7 | GMC full-size pickup | 13,016 | 17% | 2005 |
| 8 | Toyota Corolla | 12,515 | 3% | 2020 |
| 9 | Honda CR-V | 12,309 | 22% | 2000 |
| 10 | Dodge/Ram full-size pickup | 11,991 | 6% | 2001 |
