New research by Viasat highlights how the problem of stolen cars in Italy is always on the agenda. In fact, in 2021, in the beautiful country 9 cars are stolen every hour, which is equivalent, according to data from the Traffic Police to a total of 75,471 vehicles stolen from their legitimate owners.
In practice, in 2021, an average of 6,289 vehicles were stolen every month, or 210 per day. An alarming figure that is slightly up (+ 0.63%) compared to the previous year.
The area of Italy where the greatest number of thefts are recorded continues to be the South Center. Region at the top of the sad ranking is the Campania where thieves illegally stole 20,499 vehicles. Always on the podium, but on the lowest step Lazio (13,050), while the third place sees Puglia (12,850). The top 5 is completed with Sicily (9,194) e Lombardy, the first region of Northern Italy with 8,024 proven car thefts.
Stolen cars in Italy, the Fiat Panda is at the top of the ranking
However, there is one figure, if it can be considered encouraging: on the total number of stolen cars, 28,000 have returned to their owners, a percentage equal to 37,59%. The remaining 62.41% is unknown what happened to it. Most likely many of these vehicles are being resold abroad, or in some cases dismantled of all the parts which are then resold on the black market as spare parts. In practice, therefore, according to Viasat, finding a stolen car is very, very difficult.
The data processed by Viasat also show which models are “most loved” by thieves. The first place goes to Fiat Panda, followed by the Fiat 500, and the Fiat Punto. In fourth place is the Lancia Ypsilon.
If small cars are the most stolen in Italy, the top models, such as SUVs, are better off too. Research highlights that in 2021, 1,273 were stolen and found only 34%. Often the theft of an SUV takes place on “commission” and is then shipped to other countries, including the Middle East, Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia. Another thriving market for stolen SUVs was Russia, at least before the outbreak of the war.
Specifically, the 10 most stolen cars in Italy in 2021 are: