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Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has released its annual top 10 list, and Ford has almost swept the board… for cars most likely to be stolen.
Nine out of the top ten vehicles on the most stolen list are Fords, with the 2005 Ford F350 SD 4WD pickup leading the field. Ranking right under it, however, are the 2006 and 2007 iterations of the same model. The number 5 slot is taken by the 2003 version, while the number 7 position is taken by the 2001 model. The other model that dominates the list is the Ford F250 SD 4WD pick up, which comes in at number 6 with the 2006 iteration. Number 8 on the list is the 2004 version of this model, number 9 is the 2007 version, with the 2001 model closing out the top 10. The only car in the top ten that is not a Ford is the 2006 Cadillac Escalade 4 door 4WD SUV, which comes in at number 4.
Ford pickup trucks have become very desirable for illegal sale in Canada with Alberta, the province leading the way as the country’s new hot spot for hot F-Series pickups. The Escalade is popular with thieves, both as a source of parts, and for shipment to points as distant as West Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
Eagle-eyed readers will note that all 10 vehicles on the national list are models built before 2008, the year that electronic anti-theft demobilizers became mandatory on new vehicles manufactured in Canada.
The list is based on actual insurance claims data collected from nearly all automobile insurance companies in Canada.
According to the IBC , thieves target specific makes and models for vehicle for four main reasons:
- To sell abroad: Stolen vehicles are often immediately shipped abroad, where they are sold for many times their original market value.
- To sell to unsuspecting consumers. They can also be dismantled and sold for parts.
- To get somewhere: This may be referred to as “joyriding.”
- To commit another crime: Stolen vehicles used to commit other crimes are often recovered – abandoned and badly damaged – within 48 hours of their theft.
Car theft costs Canadians close to $1 billion, including $542 million for insurers to fix or replace stolen vehicles, $250 million in police, health care and court system costs and millions more for correctional services.
