Like every year, the SRA association (Security and Automotive Repair) has just published its barometer of car and utility thefts in France for the previous year. A barometer that indicates a slight increase in the frequency of these thefts, with a 3.4% increase in events of this nature reported by insurance companies. Note that this is a statistic established on the basis of data from these insurance companies when they implement the guarantee against theft taken out by the customer. When the insurance contract does not include this type of guarantee, the theft is not counted in this data. The figures are therefore not complete since it would be necessary to add the theft of vehicles not covered by the insurance of the motorists concerned. In any case, SRA data indicates that the thefts referenced by insurers concerned 3.6% of the total number of vehicles insured in 2021, i.e. a very slight increase compared to 2020 when they stood at 3.5% of the total number of insured vehicles. Thefts which cost insurers a total of 490 million euros, exactly as in 2020 and less than all the other years since 2020. The average cost of theft claims fell by 4.2% compared to 2020.
More cars were stolen in 2021 than in 2020, but they didn’t cost insurance more
In terms of car models, the fourth generation Renault Clio stands out as the most stolen car in number. It is ahead of the third-generation Renault Master utility vehicle and the second-generation Peugeot 308, three models which have been on the market for many years and which are therefore found in large numbers on our streets today. SRA even tells us the “stars” for each category of new car: among city cars, the model that currently has the highest frequency of theft is the fifth-generation Renault Clio. For compacts, it is the fourth generation Renault Mégane while the second generation Peugeot 508 dominates among sedans. The DS 3 Crossback takes the lead among urban SUVs and the second-generation Peugeot 3008 wins among compact SUVs. Finally, the Toyota Rav4 is in the lead among family SUVs. The ten recent models most often stolen in France, all categories combined, are the DS 3 and DS 7 Crossback, the Peugeot 3008, 5008 and 508, the Renault Clio and Mégane as well as the Toyota Auris, C-HR and Rav4. In utility vehicles, the top 5 are made up of the Citroën Jumper, Iveco Daily, Peugeot Boxer, Expert and Renault Master.
All data compiled by SRA for the year 2021
The Bouches-du-Rhône at the top of the flights
As for the regions, it was the Bouches-du-Rhône which included the most theft claims in 2021 ahead of Ile-de-France and the North. Finally, note that 40.9% of 4-wheel vehicles stolen in 2021 were found on January 4, 2022.
