Vehicle thefts rise significantly across France

Vehicle thefts in France rose sharply last year, according to figures from France’s interior ministry.

There were 133,800 vehicles stolen in 2022, which represents a 9% rise compared with the previous 12 months.

That equates to a vehicle theft every four minutes.

Thefts from within vehicles also increased by 9% compared with 2021, while the stealing of vehicle parts rose 30%.

The interior ministry said in a report that all these indicators had fallen during COVID but had increased significantly in 2022. But despite the hike, the indicators remained below levels observed before the health crisis, except for thefts from vehicles.

Types of vehicles stolen

French firm Coyote, which produces an annual report analysing such thefts, said 70% are estimated to be individuals’ vehicles, meaning mainly cars (as opposed to vans or larger vehicles used for business). The rest were mainly motorbikes or professional vehicles.

• 67% of vehicles stolen were SUVs, due to their commercial success, and resale and export value

• Hybrid cars were 41% more likely to be stolen in 2022 compared to 2021

Read more: Toyota Prius tops list of most stolen car model in France in 2021

Means of theft

The vast majority (88%) of vehicles were stolen via electronic means (whereby the thief hacked the computer), Coyote said.

Location-wise, 43% were stolen from a covered or underground parking space (rising to 58% for motorbikes).

Most-affected regions

Every region in France was affected by a rise in 2022, Coyote said. The worst affected areas were:

• Ile-de-France: 5.9 thefts per 1,000 vehicles (up 4%)

• Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur: 4.2 per 1,000 (up 12%)

• Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes: 2.9 per 1,000 (up 11%)

This is the first time that Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes has been on the podium since 2019, coming ahead of regions Hauts-de-France (2.8) and Pays-de-la-Loire (2.7).

Regions that are usually less affected also saw a rise, including +29% in Brittany, +21% in Centre-Val-de-Loire, and +14% in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.

Related articles

How to report a stolen car in France