West Midlands named car theft capital of UK
DVLA data has revealed the regions where drivers are most likely to have their vehicles stolen, with the West Midlands named the car theft capital of the UK.
In total, 61,343 cars were stolen in the UK in 2024, which equates to 168 thefts a day, or one every 8.5 minutes.
Although this is a six per cent reduction on the previous year it is also the third highest total in the last decade.
Further analysis found that car theft rates varied dramatically from region to region. According to What Car?, 50,734 cars were stolen in England, which equates to 0.92 cars for every 1,000 people.
Meanwhile, 1,462 cars were stolen in Scotland (0.46 per 1,000 people), 1,305 cars were stolen in Scotland (0.24 per 1,000 people), and 213 cars were stolen in Northern Ireland (0.11 per 1,000 people).
Car theft rates in England
Theft rates varied significantly across regions of England too. The data found that 14,106 cars were stolen in Greater London, but due to a smaller population the 7,694 thefts in West Midlands made it the area with the highest rate of thefts per 1,000 people – 2.64 compared to 1.58.
In contrast, the best place for safe car ownership in England is Cumbria, closely followed by Norfolk. Only 84 cars were stolen in Cumbria in 2024, equating to 0.17 per 1,000 people, and 166 cars were taken in Norfolk, which works out at 0.18 per 1000 people.
The model most commonly targeted by thieves was the Ford Fiesta, with 4,446 units stolen in the year.
