Bad news for owners of a Toyota RAV4: it was the vehicle most popular with thieves in Quebec last year according to a ranking published by Équité Association.
• Also read: 8 Ways to Limit Car Insurance Costs Related to Theft
The SUV thus dethrones the Honda CR-V, which topped this unenviable ranking for the previous two years. Équité Association, which is the national authority in Canada on the prevention of insurance fraud and crime, recorded 1,470 thefts of the 2021 version of the RAV4 in 2023. There are more than 135,000 policyholders of this vehicle in Quebec soil.
The Honda CR-V still remains one of the favorite vehicles of Quebec thieves.
Photo ANTOINE JOUBERT
For its part, the CR-V is in second place, while its owners were victims of 1,291 thefts. Another Honda vehicle, the 2016 Civic, completes the top 3 with a total of 609 thefts.
“The Toyota is very popular with thieves because it has a good resale value and it can be repaired almost everywhere in the world,” explains Jacques Lamontagne, who is director of investigations for Quebec and the Maritimes at Équité Association.
The Toyota Highlander, the most stolen vehicle in Canada (3,414 thefts), comes in fourth place with 481 thefts on Quebec soil.
The Toyota Highlander was the most popular vehicle in Canada in 2023.
Photo provided by TOYOTA
Outdated regulations
While Équité Association noted an increase of 57.9% between 2021 and 2023, the Insurance Bureau of Canada instead noted a slight improvement during the first quarter of 2024.
Its leaders noted a 19% decrease in auto theft claims compared to last year. We will have to see if the trend continues by the end of 2024.
Despite everything, the number of thefts remains high. Experts point to federal regulations on vehicle safety standards that date from 2007 and have not been updated since 2011.
“We are pushing very hard for new regulations to be put in place for spring 2025,” adds Mr. Lamontagne. We would like manufacturers to get on board the train.”
Currently, a Canadian vehicle, of the same brand and the same year, does not have security parameters against theft equivalent to those found in other countries.
Nearly 200 patents for security devices are reportedly awaiting approval. “You just need to approve a few and implement them,” says Mr. Lamontagne.
Better protected brands
While Toyotas and Hondas seem more attractive to thieves in Quebec, certain European brands are not on their radar.
“We don’t see German brands in this list because their vehicles have better anti-theft protection than others,” explains George Iny, of the Motorists’ Protection Association. It costs $10,000 on the dark web to buy the device to do it.”
Mr. Iny believes that manufacturers often tend to avoid responsibility for theft.
“It’s problematic,” he adds. They blame the thieves while adding that it is a problem that concerns justice. This is false. They know there is a problem in the production of their vehicles. There is a certain complacency there. There is a way to properly protect vehicles.”
Car insurance: “We are approaching the breaking point”
A motorist can expect his insurance premium to increase by a few hundred dollars when it is renewed if his vehicle is stolen for the first time, even if he is not responsible for its sinister.
It’s even worse if his car is stolen for a second or third time. To continue to be insured, he must be ready to pay a hefty bill in addition to respecting contractual conditions, such as higher, less advantageous premiums.
In certain cases, the insurance company may even reserve the right to no longer insure its client because he represents too great a risk for it.
“We are reaching the breaking point,” explains insurance expert Louis Cyr. Insurers are raising premiums because claims costs are soaring, but policyholders continue to pay.
“It is not the insurers who will trigger this breaking point. It’s the consumers who will have to say that it no longer makes sense to pay so much.”
He has a fairly simple solution to avoid incurring a sharp increase in his insurance bill in the event of theft.
“You should avoid buying one of the vehicles on the list of the 10 most stolen cars,” says Mr. Cyr, referring to the Équité Association list.
He also suggests that the police be more present at the port of Montreal, where the traffic in stolen vehicles has been active for several years.
Claims of $350 million
The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) revealed that the amount of car theft claims reached $346 million in 2023. A total of 10,310 claims were recorded during this period.
The scourge of car theft has had a considerable impact on the victims, but also on all motorists, who have seen their premiums increase substantially.
Over the past year, Quebec motorists have seen their premium jump by $105 on average, according to BAC CEO Celyeste Power last February.
The most stolen vehicles in Quebec in 2023
1) Toyota RAV4 2021
Number of insured vehicles: 135,364
Vols name: 1470
Theft rate/frequency: 1.09%
2) Honda CR-V 2021
Number of insured vehicles: 118,052
Volume name: 1291
Theft rate/frequency: 1.09%
3) Honda Civic 2016
Number of insured vehicles: 217,205
Vols name: 609
Theft rate/frequency: 0.28%
4) Toyota Highlander 2021
Number of insured vehicles: 18,407
Vols name: 481
Theft rate/frequency: 2.61% (third rank in Quebec)
5) Jeep Wrangler 2021
Number of insured vehicles: 30,677
Vols name: 459
Theft rate/frequency: 1.50%
6) Dodge Ram 1500 2022
Number of insured vehicles: 80,350
Vols name: 395
Theft rate/frequency: 0.49%
7) Hyundai Tucson 2020
Number of insured vehicles: 67,306
Vols name: 390
Theft rate/frequency: 0.58%
8) Acura RDX 2021
Number of insured vehicles: 16,393
Vols name: 336
Theft rate/frequency: 2.05% (fifth place in Quebec)
9) Chevrolet/GMC/Suburban/Yukon/Tahoe 2023
Number of insured vehicles: 5301
Vols name: 214
Theft rate/frequency: 4.04%
10) Kia Sportage 2020
Number of vehicles insured: 43,370
Vols name: 167
Theft rate/frequency: 0.39%
Top 3 most stolen vehicles in Canada in 2023
1) Toyota Highlander 2021: 3414 vols
2) Dodge Ram 1500 2022: 3078 vols
3) Lexus RX 2022: 3037 vols
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