Mark McCann's video exposing car thieves prompted police in Redditch to organize vehicle theft prevention sessions, revealing just how systematic and fearless these operations have become. The thieves he interviewed were 18 years old and considered theft their job. They go to work every night bypassing modern security by breaking into homes and searching for keys, which as a rule sit by the front door or on top of the fridge. Remorseless and fearless. If a homeowner wakes, they run off laughing.
The cars are often stolen to order with unscrupulous dealers paying up to £6,000 per car, making this a lucrative business with little fear of consequences. Police are overworked and under resourced. Prisons are full. If caught, offenders often receive community service. The risk reward calculation favors the thieves overwhelmingly. According to research by the Institute of the Motor Industry, over half of motorists are worried their car could be accessed and stolen by remote thieves.
When asked about electric vehicles, the thief replied they don't touch them because no one wants them. That statement deserves examination because it contains a kernel of truth wrapped in complete misunderstanding. EVs are indeed stolen far less frequently than petrol cars, but not for the reason the thief thinks.
Only 1 out of every 100,000 insured Tesla Model 3s was stolen, compared to 49 out of every 100,000 insured cars overall. In Britain, only 0.1 percent of the nation's EVs were stolen last year, as opposed to 0.2 percent of all vehicles, making electric cars half as likely to be stolen as conventional ones. The most stolen vehicle was the Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, which was stolen 2,583 times for every 100,000 insured vehicles. Thieves find muscle cars more appealing than EVs, but not because nobody wants electric vehicles.
The real reasons are technical and economic. Electric vehicles are always connected to the internet and equipped with GPS modules, allowing owners to know their precise location. The Tesla Model 3 is equipped with a security system called Sentry Mode, which monitors external threats to the vehicle. When parked publicly, EVs are commonly plugged into a charger kiosk, and simply cutting the cable does not release the vehicle as the vehicle's system will detect the charging handle and keep it locked.
When police busted a Tesla theft ring in Oregon, they discovered thieves had to disable GPS tracking devices embedded in the vehicles to make the cars harder to locate. That's extra work, extra risk, extra technical knowledge required. Why bother when there's a Range Rover parked next door with keys sitting on the kitchen counter?
GM and Ford full-size trucks like the F-150 and Silverado sit at the top of most stolen lists, along with the Honda Civic, Accord, and Toyota Camry. These vehicles have established black markets, known buyers overseas, easily stripped parts with high demand. Thieves know exactly where to take them and what they're worth. An EV represents uncertainty. Where do you sell it? Who wants the battery? How do you defeat the tracking? The criminal infrastructure for combustion vehicles has existed for decades. For EVs, it barely exists.
The thief's claim that nobody wants them is projection. He doesn't want them. His network doesn't want them. The dealers paying £6,000 per car don't want them. But that's because they've built their entire operation around stealing, cloning, and selling traditional vehicles. Retooling for EVs would require new skills, new contacts, new markets. Easier to stick with what works.
The irony is that EVs, the vehicles thieves claim nobody wants, might be the safest option purely by accident. Not because of superior engineering or manufacturer foresight, but because criminals haven't bothered updating their business model yet. Give them time. They will.