The Most Stolen Vehicles In Illinois: Is One Of Them Yours?

Just in case you might have been thinking that car thieves are a dying breed, and that you have a greater chance of having your catalytic converter stolen than your vehicle, this is a quick reminder that car theft is still very much a thing here in Illinois and across the nation.

As someone who once had their car stolen (it was swiped here in Rockford and then taken to Texas on a failed drug run where it was eventually found on the bottom of a lake), I can tell you that it wasn't the worst thing that ever happened to me, but the whole experience sucked.

Might have been my fault for driving a 1986 fire-engine red Pontiac Trans Am that basically begged you to break speed limits and apparently worked just fine for hauling cocaine across the country.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) Says That In 2022, Reports Of Vehicle Thefts Were Up 7% Over The Previous Year

The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) also points out that a car or truck is stolen in this country every 32 seconds, which in doing some math, equals out to over 1 million vehicles getting boosted every year.

The FBI's data from 2019 (the latest year available for statistics) says that vehicle theft losses added up to over $6.4 billion. When you compare vehicle theft stats with catalytic converter thefts, it's not even close. Estimates of 153,000 catalytic converter thefts in 2022 still only gets you about $214 million in total.

Here Are The Most Stolen Vehicles In Illinois And Across The United States, According To The NICB

You may notice that several of the most-stolen vehicles recently had troubles with theft deterence, in particular a security flaw that was trumpeted loudly on social media. Those problems are still going on.

1. Hyundai Elantra
2. Hyundai Sonata
3. Kia Optima
4. Kia Sportage
5. Jeep Grand Cherokee
6. Kia Forte
7. Dodge Charger
8. Toyota Camry
9. Chevrolet Malibu