Car owners can torment over a car, if their vehicle becomes a target for thieves. It is a major concern for a car buyer, specially in India, where car theft rate is generally high. With millions of cars being stolen every year and later resold in black market, people have now started considering it as an usual trend. For carjackers, its a monsoon but for owners, its a distress in the thunder. These crooks have kept the cops on their toes when it comes to breaking-in the car and selling the spare parts in black market, just to rake in big amounts.
Maruti 800 Front Right
The cars that top the most-stolen list include Maruti Suzuki 800, Esteem, Tata Indica, Honda City, Toyota Qualis, Hyundai Santro, Mahindra Bolero, Chevrolet Tavera, Mahindra Scorpio and taxis. With a good resale value, these cars have become a hotspot for car lifters, which apparently lead to a pitfall for owners. During an annual press meeting organised by the Mumbai Police, over 1,540 cars were registered as stolen in the state during 2011. Starting with Mahindra Scorpio, a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), the model is considered as the most popular and favourite choice among thieves. If we have a look at the numbers, then 133 Scorpios were stolen in 2011 as against 148 in year-ago period. From the same car manufacturer, 106 units of Bolero were reportedly stolen in 2011 as compared to the figure of 79 in 2010.
Mahindra Scorpio
Next in the list is Chevrolet Tavera, which has witnessed a theft figure of about 67 in 2010. Noticeably, a rise of 58 per cent was seen in 2011 when 106 units of this model were lifted. In case of Hyundai, 106 units of Santro were being picked-up by car thieves in Mumbai during 2011. On the other hand, Toyota Qualis did not however seem appropriate for carjackers as only 52 of them were stolen in 2011 from 59 in 2010. in the sedan segment, Honda City, undoubtedly, eyed an elevation of 23 per cent with 37 cars being lifted by thieves in 2011 as against 30 in 2010. The number of Tata Indica models being stolen increased from 61 in 2010 to 67 in 2011.
Hyundai Santro Xing
To much of your amazement, Maruti Esteem, which has been phased out from production, is still a hot pick amongst vehicle lifters as there were 58 Esteem cars that were reportedly stolen in 2011. Moreover, the obsolete yet classical Maruti 800 saw a figure of 62 cars being stolen in 2011 as against 57 in 2010. Owing to a large population in the country, we see taxis on roads like a honeycomb and according to facts sheet, 61 taxis were stolen in 2011 from 68 in 2010.
