Insurer’s information also suggests thieves mainly prefer ex-Japan imports over NZ-new – with one exception.

RELEASE of ‘most stolen’ data from an insurer suggests those who buy into New Zealand-new late model vehicles are much less at risk of having their vehicles stolen than owners of old and mainly used import products.

Information from AMI again nominates the Mazda Demio, a small city-centric hatchback, as the country’s most stolen car. It’s held that title for three consecutive years.

A release also cites in its top 10 seven other vehicles popular as ex-Japan used cars, with the insurer highlighting that many of those do not have the immobilisers that go into export versions sold new.

Utility vehicles, which are highly-preferred by Kiwis but rarely arrive as used products (the ute market in Japan is miniscule), are also nominated.

Of the two to make the hit list, only the Toyota Hiliux – which AMI says is at No.7 on its list, with 384 claims – still represents as a new model. It’s also highly popular, being the second best-selling ute in NZ for years.

The other is the Ford Courier, a nameplate which left the market 12 years ago, having been replaced by the Ranger, the country’s top-selling ute and, on occasion, also our most popular new vehicle overall.

AMI bases its data on 12,000 insurance claims, received for vehicle thefts over the past three years.

The Demio accounted for 10 percent of claims, despite only making up 1.5 percent of the country’s fleet.

Also on the list are the Mazda Atenza, Nissan Tiida, Subaru Legacy, Mazda Familia, Subaru Impreza, Hilux, Ford Courier, Subaru Forester and Honda Civic. The Atenza and Familia are respectively Japan domestic market equivalents of the Mazda6 and Mazda3 sold new here, the Tiida used to represent as a NZ-new product but is also a highly popular used import. That status also holds for the Impreza, the Forester and the Civic, which continue to represent in NZ-new form but also deliver as JUCs.

AMI says that regionally, Auckland had the highest number of vehicle thefts with 39 percent (4489 lodged with AMI) of all claims. The insurer says its research says 31 percent of the national vehicle fleet is based in our largest city.

The runner up region, Canterbury, had 2074 claims.

AMI’s executive general manager claims, Wayne Tippet, says the data serves as a reminder to take security precautions and check insurance details are up to date.

He says the claims data shows that many cars are parked out on the street or outside someone else’s property for the night when they are stolen.

“Here in New Zealand, our vehicle fleet has a high proportion of imported, second-hand cars and many of them aren’t fitted with immobilisers. If your vehicle can’t, or doesn’t have an immobiliser fitted, a steering wheel lock is also an effective and affordable option that will help deter thieves.”

While Demio is the most stolen car, it is also the one also most likely to be recovered. AMI says over the past three years, 94 percent of stolen Demio cars were recovered – well above the average of 70 percent across all vehicle models. The utes have the lowest rate of recovery, with Hilux at 30 percent and Courier at 47 percent.