Car thefts in Australia in 2017 fell by 7% compared to 2016 with the VE Holden Commodore proving to be the most stolen car in the country.

AUSTRALIAN CAR THEFTS ARE FALLING, according to the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council (NMVTRC). In the latest figures released by the NMVTRC, vehicle thefts in 2017 fell by 7% compared to 2016 with a total of 52,858 vehicles stolen. And compared to five years ago, vehicle theft is down by 8%.

However, Queensland recorded a 10% increase in profit-motivated vehicle theft with 1427 vehicles stolen for profit. Queensland recorded 9029 vehicle thefts overall. Victoria however leads the charge with 2981 vehicles stolen for profit in 2017 and 12,768 vehicle thefts across the calendar year. New South Wales was second with 2618 vehicles stolen for profit and 10,037 overall.

Queensland featured in three of the top five local government areas for vehicle theft in 2017, with Brisbane City in first place (2118), Gold Coast in second (1375) and Logan in fourth (906). The ACT’s Greater ACT sat in third place with 1170 thefts and Victoria’s Hume rounded out fifth place with 837.

In terms of vehicle cost, 41% of all vehicle thefts are of vehicles costing less than $5000 with vehicles costing more than $50,000 making up less than 2% of vehicle thefts in 2017. The total estimated cost of vehicles stolen in 2017 was $505,9999,087.

The top five vehicles stolen in 2017 were the VE Holden Commodore with 908 thefts, the Nissan Pulsar N15 on 747, the Toyota HiLux (2005-2011) on 596, the BA Ford Falcon on 577, and the VY Commodore on 558 stolen in 2017.