Is your car a steal?

© Bo Nielsen – 123RF.com

Outsurance does not "share our claim statistics publicly".

Telesure insurance company will not say which vehicle brand or model is most at risk because "the data would be subject to so many permutations that it would skew any results we would give you and wouldn't reflect the true figures".

And Tracker spokesman Nandi Canning says its relationship with car manufacturers precludes its disclosing information.

Though Outsurance spokesman Natasha Kawulesar declined to respond to questions, the company's call centre told The Times that Toyotas and VWs were considered high risk, especially if you live in Pretoria, Johannesburg or Durban.

This is confirmed by the website Carinfo, which says South Africa has an "epidemic of stolen cars", with a vehicle stolen every nine minutes.

According to the vehicle security company DataDot, 10% - or 1.6-million - of the 11-million cars driven on South African roads are stolen.

Of these:

• 60% are resold locally;
• 30% are exported, 25% going to African countries and 5% off the continent; and
• 10% are stolen for spare parts.

Police crime statistics show that 56,616 vehicles were stolen in South Africa last year, taking the total since 2004 to 810,785.

Carinfo says insurance agencies are wary of divulging details of vehicles stolen for fear of upsetting car manufacturers.

"There is a list of the most-stolen cars that was made in 2010... according to insurance industry experts, the models of car most stolen have changed very little. First, because some models are just more popular in South Africa and across Africa. These vehicles are seen as reliable and dependable ... good choices for African roads.

"Because these vehicles are popular there is high demand for car parts for them, resulting in more of the same cars being stolen to supply those parts."

Carinfo, listing statistics from April, says Toyotas are targeted the most, with the Hilux bakkie and Corolla among the top five.

Others on the list are Toyota's HiAce and Venture and the Nissan 1400 bakkie.

Toyota SA spokesman Clinton Yon dismissed the list as "outdated and ridiculous drivel", saying he did not feel it "relevant" to mention exact models of cars stolen.

He conceded that in 2010 the company was informed by insurers and its own dealer network that Fortuners and Hiluxes were highly desired by car thieves. As a result, Toyota had had to upgrade the security system on these vehicles six times since 2005.

But Yon said half the vehicles listed by Carinfo did not exist any more, a claim car industry insiders contradict. They say there are still large numbers of HiAces and Ventures on the road, being popular in the minibus taxi industry.

Yon said the theft of Fortuners and Hiluxes had to do with there being large numbers of them on the road. The company had developed an approved anti-theft solution.

Matt Gennrich, spokesman for Volkswagen Group SA - whose Polo Vivo is one of the most popular sedans among thieves - said: "It is a numbers game. Vivo is the bestselling sedan car in South Africa, therefore Vivo is effectively similar to the Toyota Hilux and is sitting at the top level of stolen cars."

Ian Georgeson, CEO of Cross Country Insurance Consultants, which insures sport utility vehicles and bakkies specifically, said nearly 40% of its books had Toyota vehicles on them, specifically Land Cruisers, Fortuners and Hiluxes.

"The majority of vehicles stolen are these, but it has been pointed out that large numbers of vehicles on the roads are Toyota."

The theft of Fortuners and Hiluxes is so prevalent that the company requires two tracking devices plus a telematrix device, which notifies the owner via an SMS when the vehicle is being tampered with, to be fitted before insuring it.

"Our requirements are stringent. Three years ago it was just two tracking devices, but six months ago we added the telematrix requirement," Georgeson said.

Source: The Times