Hybrid cars are becoming more prone to vehicle theft in line with their growing popularity as new cars.

The hybrid Lexus RX 450h is now the second most stolen and recovered vehicle in Tracker’s league table

New figures from Tracker reveal the Lexus RX 450h was the second most stolen and recovered vehicle in the UK for the first half of 2023, only beaten by the Range Rover Sport, which retained its leading position in the league table.

That’s after the luxury hybrid SUV entered the vehicle tracking specialist’s top 10 table for the first time in 2022, taking sixth position.

“The ongoing shortage of new and used vehicles as well as spare parts is still having an impact on thefts, even though the supply chain challenges have eased slightly in recent months,” commented Clive Wain, head of police liaison at Tracker. “However, zero emissions ambitions and the growing number of clean air and zero emissions zones, as well as the expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone are driving a surge in sales of electric and hybrid vehicles.

“Unfortunately, when we see a trend in car sales, we know that will very quickly be reflected in car thefts, as demonstrated by the Lexus RX 450h moving rapidly up to second place in our most-recovered table. Professional criminals steal to order, and to meet market demand, so it is unsurprising to see a hybrid being stolen so often. We expect to see an even greater number of low and zero emissions vehicles in our list of recoveries, taking more of the top spots.”

Earlier this year, Tracker warned that car thieves are turning their focus to fully electric cars and hybrids in line with changing new car market dynamics. Increasing demand for hybrids and fully electric cars means there’s a greater risk of these vehicles being targeted by thieves than before.

Latest new car registration figures from the SMMT show rising demand for hybrids, which rose 30.7% to 38,014 units in September 2023, accounting for 13.9% of all registrations compared to 12.9% in the same month last year.

Elsewhere, Tracker’s new figures for the first half of 2023 reveal overall vehicle recoveries increased by a third (33%) year on year.

Stolen car recoveries increased by 39.5% and light commercial vehicles (LCVs) by 19%, while motorcycle recoveries leapt up by 113%.

The data also shows that keyless car theft and ‘relay attack’ continues to grow, having increased steadily for many years. In 2017, 80% of all vehicles stolen and recovered were stolen without using the owner’s keys, and the latest data reveals that 93% of thefts are carried out without the keys.

The highest value stolen car recovered by Tracker in January to June 2023 was a Mercedes-Benz AMG with a retail price of £182,000. The lowest value car recovered was an Audi A4, valued at just £1,000.