Hotwired: NZ’s most stolen cars

TOYOTA AQUA HAS TAKEN THE TOP SPOT FROM THE MAZDA DEMIO AS THE NATION’S MOST FREQUENTLY STOLEN CAR, ACCORDING TO AMI

In 2022, the Aqua, also known as the Toyota Prius C, accounted for 11 per cent of AMI’s vehicle theft claims, despite only making up 1.47 per cent of the country’s fleet.

The Toyota Aqua pips the Mazda Demio, which now comes in as the second most stolen car, closely followed by the Nissan Tiida. Rounding out the top 10 are the Mazda Atenza (Mazda 6), Toyota MarkX, Toyota Vitz, Subaru Legacy, Toyota Corolla, Subaru Impreza, and Mazda Familia.

Of note is the Toyota MarkX’s inaugural entry into the top 10, with theft claims surging in recent years from only 21 claims in 2020 to 441 in 2022, a 2,000 per cent increase in just three years.

This pattern is mirrored across the rest of the data, as theft claims soared to new highs in 2022, up 43 per cent on the year prior. This is a growing trend, despite a Covid-related dip in 2020.

AMI’s executive general manager claims, Wayne Tippet, says the fact that thefts are trending upwards again makes it even more important to ensure insurance