"One Car Stolen Every Four Minutes"...Why Vehicle Theft Is So Widespread In France

Disguised as Different Cars and Resold as Used Vehicles

In France, one car is stolen every four minutes, and a significant number of the stolen vehicles are being circulated in the used car market.

According to Interior Ministry statistics cited by the daily Le Figaro on the 9th (local time), there were 125,200 vehicle thefts in France over the past year. A simple calculation shows that this amounts to roughly one car theft every four minutes.

The number of thefts is similar to the previous year, but the methods used by criminals have changed significantly. Criminal organizations have specialized in techniques to "disguise" stolen vehicles so they can supply them to the European used car market.

Stephane Courtelin, Marketing Director at French vehicle theft prevention service provider Coyote Secure, explained, "In the past, cars were mainly dismantled for parts, or frequently smuggled to Eastern Europe or Africa via ports." However, tracking stolen vehicles last year showed that about 40% were found in illegal modification workshops in Belgium and Germany. At these facilities, the vehicle histories are falsified, and the cars are then made to look like legitimate used vehicles and resold within Europe.

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Courtelin said this shift reflects trends in the automotive market. "Economic conditions have become somewhat more complicated. New car purchases are decreasing, while used car purchases are increasing," he said, adding, "Criminals are riding this wave and supplying products to the used car market."

Criminal organizations are targeting models that are in high demand in the used car market. According to Coyote Secure, models such as the Peugeot 5008 and 3008, the Renault Clio, and the Toyota RAV4 are prime targets. Sport utility vehicles (SUVs) account for about 70% of stolen vehicles, and hybrids make up nearly half.

In particular, criminal groups are known to use theft methods that do not damage the car, in order to resell the vehicles.

Coyote Secure explained that they use electronic hacking techniques to disable the alarm, then open the doors and start the engine within a few minutes, stealing the car without leaving any scratches.