The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), an organization created to prevent and detect insurance fraud and vehicle theft, has released a new report analyzing thefts of 2013 model year vehicles.
According to the NCIC report, there were a total of 34,610 thefts of 2013 vehicle models through June of 2014, representing fewer than 5 percent of the nearly 724,000 total thefts for all makes and models on the road last year. During that period, 88 percent of the stolen 2013 models were recovered, compared with an overall recovery rate for all vehicular thefts of about 50 percent.
California led all states in thefts of 2013 models with 6,818. Florida came in second at 3,617, followed by Texas with 3,037 and Michigan with 2,711. Recovery rates in California were at 92 percent, Florida had 86 percent and Michigan had 93 percent. Texas had a modest 83 percent recovery rate, most likely due to a large number of stolen vehicles being taken across the border into Mexico.
"That new car smell may attract thieves, but the anti-theft technology built into today's cars is a sure fire repellant for all but the most determined professionals," said Joe Wehrle, NICB president and CEO. "This is further evidence that thieves are being frustrated by the manufacturers and they are trying to find new ways to steal vehicles by way of ID theft, financial fraud, VIN switching or other means that we have begun to describe in a new series of reports on the changing face of vehicle theft."
