The number of thefts and vehicle thefts has dropped sharply in 2023

The number of thefts and thefts of vehicles in 2023 decreased sharply, according to statistics from the Ministry of Internal Affairs provided to Kommersant. Insurers confirm the positive trend, explaining it mainly by the geopolitical situation: the sales markets of Ukraine and the Baltic states, where stolen cars were most often exported, have been closed since the spring of 2022. Experts note that Chinese cars are gaining popularity among car thieves, but domestic and Korean brands still remain the leaders. There are also suggestions that the decline may be replaced by a new surge in the wave of thefts – cars, Kommersant’s interlocutors do not rule out, will be stolen in order to be dismantled and sold for spare parts.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (data provided at the request of Kommersant) in January-November 2023 registered 6.58 thousand vehicle thefts (Article 158 of the Criminal Code “Theft”) – 22.9% less than in the same period last year. The largest number of such crimes were committed in the Moscow, Leningrad, Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk, Novosibirsk regions, St. Petersburg, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, and Primorsky territories. In addition, from January to November, 11.6 thousand vehicle thefts were registered (Article 166 of the Criminal Code “Wrongful taking of a car or other vehicle without the purpose of theft”) – 8.4% less than a year earlier. Responding to a request from Kommersant, the Ministry of Internal Affairs emphasized: the total number of vehicle thefts has been declining in the Russian Federation for several years now.

The All-Russian Union of Insurers (VUS) confirms the trend. Please note that insurers only have statistics regarding vehicles insured under comprehensive insurance. Thus, according to the VSS, if in 2020 2.4 thousand cars were stolen, in 2021 – 1.53 thousand, in 2022 – 942, then for the partial year 2023 (information as of December 20) – 596 Vice-President of the Supreme Soviet Sergei Efremov believes that the main reason for the decrease in the scale of crimes is the change in the geopolitical situation. The fact is that stolen cars were most often exported for sale to Ukraine and the Baltic countries. However, after the start of the Northern Military District, the borders with these states were closed. Mr. Efremov also points to an increase in the number of surveillance cameras. In 2022, we recall that the Ministry of Internal Affairs launched the “Web” system, which allows, among other things, to track wanted cars as they move within and between regions in real time.

According to the VSS, the cars most often stolen in 2023 were domestic brands (mainly Lada), as well as Hyundai and Kia. As for the models, the most popular among attackers were the Hyundai Santa Fe, Lada Granta, Kia Rio, Toyota Camry, Mitsubishi Outlander, Toyota RAV4, Kia Sorento, Kia Sportage, Hyundai Solaris, as well as the VAZ-2121 Niva. The least stolen cars are from brands such as Land Rover and Mazda.

Ingosstrakh told Kommersant that the number of thefts in the company’s portfolio has halved over the year. “There may be several reasons,” explains Vitaly Knyaginichev, director of the company’s retail business directorate. “This includes improving the work of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, improving anti-theft systems, and the difficulty of crossing borders, because most of the stolen vehicles were exported outside the Russian Federation.”

Absolut Insurance records a fivefold decrease in the number of thefts. “Due to the large number of external surveillance cameras, the number of people willing to steal vehicles is decreasing,” says Alexander Sysuev, head of the company’s auto insurance claims settlement department, as the main reason. He notes that, according to the company, cars were most often stolen from local parking lots; in addition, in 35% of cases, leasing companies are the insurers of stolen vehicles. Senior product manager for auto insurance at RESO-Garantiya, Pavel Yakovlev, among the possible reasons for the trend, also names increased control at the state border and a general decrease in interest in this “business” due to possible problems with the sale of stolen cars.

“At the end of the year, we also see that car thieves began to be interested in Chinese cars, especially actively towards the end of the year,” Sergei Efremov told Kommersant. “The market now offers quite expensive cars from China with an interesting design. Some Chinese cars may already be stolen for spare parts.” “We do not rule out that due to the massive import of vehicles through parallel imports and, in general, the massive sale of new models for our market, there will be a wave of thefts for spare parts,” adds Pavel Yakovlev. However, Vitaly Knyaginichev does not yet see a trend towards increasing the popularity of Chinese car thefts.

Vice-President of the National Automobile Union Anton Shaparin recalls that the initiative of the Russian Union of Auto Insurers to use used spare parts for repairs within the framework of compulsory motor liability insurance is being discussed. If it is supported and adopted, Russia will become “one of the world leaders in the number of thefts, and repairs under compulsory motor liability insurance will become a form of legalization of stolen cars,” warns Mr. Shaparin. “If the current situation continues, then we will hope for a further reduction in the number of stolen cars,” the expert is confident.

Ivan Buranov