If your client tells you they’re looking into buying a 2021 Toyota Highlander, you can confirm the SUV is indeed the most popular choice in Canada — for auto thieves.
In fact, it’s the Number 1 stolen car in the country, surpassing even the Honda CR-V, which had been the country’s most frequently stolen car for the previous two years.
There were 123,532 auto insurance policies issued on the 2021 Toyota Highlander in 2023, and of these, 3,414 were stolen, says Équité Association, Canada’s national authority on insurance crime and fraud prevention.
“The Toyota Highlander is a popular model in Canada, which is globally serviceable and has a high resale value both domestically and internationally; noting criminals continually shift demand to maximize their profits from the illegal sale of vehicles,” Équité comments in a release announcing Canada Top 10 stolen vehicles in 2023.
“It also shares similarities with nearly all of the vehicles on the national list, where the vehicles are 2019 or newer models, and have vulnerabilities that come with keyless ignitions, particularly as these vehicles do not come equipped with anti-theft devices aligned to the ULC 338 Anti-theft Standards.”
Équité says anti-theft efforts in Canada need to shift towards making vehicles more difficult to steal in the first place. And that’s why, for the past two years, Équité has been urging Transport Canada to update Canada’s Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations by adopting the recently updated safety standards by UL Standards & Engagement (ULSE).
“The most crucial step in fighting auto theft is stopping it before it starts,” says Bryan Gast, vice president of investigative services at Équité Association. “One of the most common trends we’re seeing on the Top 10 Most Stolen Vehicles list includes newer vehicles with keyless ignitions…”
“A modernized vehicle security standard aligned to the ULC 338 Standards is needed to address current methods of theft across all manufacturers. In addition, fortifying the unauthorized access to vehicle electronic systems is imperative to stop the auto theft crisis from continuing in Canada.”
What else is on thieves’ wish list?
Luxury vehicles continue to be a prime target for thieves because of their high resale value in both Canada and overseas.
Two luxury vehicles on the Top 10 list had the highest theft rate (the most vehicles stolen per insurance policies issued for the model).
The 2020 Land Rover Range Rover Series SUVs were eighth on the list of Canada’s Top 10 stolen vehicles. Of the 34,615 Land Rover Range Rovers insured in 2023, 1,533 were ripped off, with a theft rate of 4.43%.
Third on the list is the Lexus RX Series, with 3,037 of the SUVs stolen out of a total of 96,400 auto insurance policies issued for the vehicle.
Seven out of Canada’s 10 most stolen cars were SUVs, two were trucks, and only one — the Honda Civic — was a car.
Canada’s most stolen car for the past two years, the Honda CR-V fell to fourth place in the 2023 rankings for the nation’s most stolen vehicle.
The Top 10 stolen cars in 2023 were:
- 2021 Toyota Highlander (Theft rate: 2.76%)
- 2022 Dodge Ram 1500 Series (0.59%)
- 2022 Lexus RX Series (3.15%)
- 2021 Honda CR-V (0.61%)
- 2021 Toyota RAV4 (0.53%)
- 2019 Honda Civic (0.24%)
- 2021 Jeep Wrangler (1.16%)
- 2020 Land Rover Range Rover Series (4.43%)
- 2023 Chevrolet/GMC Suburban/Yukon /Tahoe Series (2.37%)
- 2006 Chevrolet/GMC Silverado/Sierra 1500 Series (0.23%)
Feature image courtesy of iStock.com/vm
