High-end SUVs among most frequently stolen vehicles in Canada: IBC

The Honda Civic has topped this year’s top 10 list of most frequently stolen vehicles, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, but higher-end SUVs were also a target.

The 2000 Honda Civic SiR 2DR is at the top of the list for the second year in a row and high-end SUVs and Ford trucks hold most other spots, IBC said Thursday.

The top 10 most frequently stolen vehicles across Canada are:

1. 2000 HONDA CIVIC SiR 2DR
2. 2006 CHEVROLET TRAILBLAZER SS 4DR 4WD SUV
3. 2002 CADILLAC ESCALADE 4DR 4WD SUV
4. 2005 CADILLAC ESCALADE 4DR 4WD SUV
5. 2006 FORD F350 SD 4WD PU
6. 2005 CADILLAC ESCALADE ESV 4DR AWD SUV
7. 2006 ACURA RSX TYPE S 2DR 2D
8. 2007 FORD F250 SD 4WD PU
9. 2007 FORD F350 SD 4WD PU
10. 2003 ACURA RSX TYPE S 2DR 2D

“Thieves consistently target the Honda Civic to chop for parts,” Rick Dubin, IBC’s vice president of investigative services commented in a statement. “Those parts are easy to resell because there are so many Civics on the road.”

The stolen Escalades and Ford series trucks on the list are also now showing up less frequently at the ports for export, according to Dubin. They are being re-identified (reVINed) and sold throughout Canada to unsuspecting consumers, IBC says.

“Organized criminals are now dismantling higher-end vehicles and exporting them in pieces instead of as whole vehicles because they are less likely to be detected,” Dubin also noted. These vehicles get reassembled as far away as West Africa and then resold, IBC says.

That approach is likely a reaction to the detection and seizure of $8 million worth of stolen vehicles in 2013 by Canada Border Services Agency, in partnership with IBC investigators at the Ports of Montreal and Halifax, Dubin added.

Despite declines in recent years, auto theft is still big business in Canada, IBC says. The number of vehicles stolen annually has dropped recently to 78,000, which amounts to 4,500 fewer motor vehicle thefts in 2012 than in 2011, and a 57% drop from a decade ago, according to the organization.