Most stolen cars of 2024 - is yours among the 20 models under threat?
31 January 2025, 13:47
Officials figures reveal more than 60,000 cars were stolen in 2024 - meaning a car was stolen every 8 and a half minutes. Find out if your car is among the most popular models to be pinched below.
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Car theft is still rife in Britain, despite a year-on-year decline in the number of cars stolen.
Around 61,343 cars were reported stolen last year, making it the third highest number of yearly car thefts of the last decade.
Statistics from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) released after Freedom of Information requests show that the UK’s car theft epidemic is still widespread.
Figures show that, on average, 168 cars were nicked per day. This boils down to seven an hour, or one car theft every eight-and-a-half minutes.
The figures for 2024 mark a 6% decline from the year before, which registered 64,087 stolen vehicles, but still come in at more than double the number of car thefts recorded in 2015.
Criminals now have a variety of technologically advanced methods to steal cars, including key hackers, signal boosters, key cloning and the like.
Here, we compile the 20 cars that were stolen the most in 2024, according to data requested by What Car? and Tempcover insurance, first reported by This is Money.
1. Ford Fiesta - 4,446 stolen
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Ford Fiesta tops the list of most stolen cars.
While the number is down around 26% from 2023, it still tops the list by far, with more than double the thefts reported than the second car on our list.
The Ford Fiesta is the most common car on the roads in the UK - with more than 1.5 million models - which makes it more likely to be stolen.
There is also a higher demand for spare parts, which the criminals likely sell on to unsuspecting owners.
Fiesta models made between 2008 and 2016 - particularly the Mk 6 models - top the list of stolen cars, as almost 90% of the Fiesta's stolen were Mk 6 editions.
2. Volkswagen Golf - 1,731 stolen
The Volkswagen Golf - an iconic car that has been around for generations - comes in at second place.
With more than one million Golfs on UK roads, it also comes as little surprise that this car is targeted by car thieves.
1,731 Golfs were reported stolen in 2024 - which marks a 15% decrease in the numbers from 2023, according to the DVLA.Still, the Golf moved up a place in the rankings for 2024.
The most likely to be stolen VW Golf was the seventh-generation model made between 2013 and 2019, accounting for more than half of all Golfs nicked.
3. Ford Focus - 1,700 stolen
The Ford Focus - the Fiesta's very near cousin - is the third most stolen car on our list.
It is nearly as popular as the Fiesta, with more than 1.3 million models on the road at the moment.
The Focus is soon to be discontinued by Ford, with the company planning to kill production later this year in favour of an electric replacement.
This means it might unfortunately move up this list in the years to come, as demand for spare parts surges.
Focus models built between 2011 and 2018 were the most likely to be targeted by thieves, making up more than 57% of all models stolen.
4. BMW 3 Series - 1,371 stolen
The BMW 3 Series comes in at number four in our list, jumping up three places from last year, as the popular German car remains highly popular.
First sold in the 70s, the 3 Series remains one of the most popular cars in the country, with more than 600,000 models on the road.
Thieves seem less picky about which models they stole, as conventional saloons were taken alongside coupes, convertibles, estate and sporty editions of the 3 Series.
5. Toyota RAV4 - 1,260 stolen
The most modern car on our list, and a newcomer to the top 5, is the Toyota RAV4.
More than 90% of the massive 4X4 cars that were stolen are the current model, starting from 2019 onwards.
A brand new Toyota RAV4 starts at £44,175.
As it is not a very common car - with only 189,532 models registered in the UK - it seems to be targeted a lot by thieves.
The rest of our list is as follows:
6. Mercedes-Benz C-Class - 1,123 stolen
7. Range Rover Evoque - 1,087 stolen
8. Nissan Juke - 1,027 stolen
9. Vauxhall Corsa - 870 stolen
10. Range Rover Sport - 867 stolen
11. Land Rover Discovery Sport - 837 stolen
12. Mercedes-Benz E-Class - 802 stolen
13. Vauxhall Astra - 797 stolen
14. BMW 1 Series - 753 stolen
15. Mercedes-Benz A-Class - 690 stolen
16. Lexus RX - 678 stolen
17. Kia Sportage - 654 stolen
18. BMW 5 Series - 651 stolen
19. Audi A3 - 641 stolen
20. Ford Kuga - 632 stolen
