By CRM Staff
Toronto, Ontario — December 13, 2017 — Thieves in Ontario are going big, with high-end SUVs topping the International Bureau Canada’s (IBC) list of most commonly stolen vehicles. This comes at the same time as new figures from Statistics Canada found the number of vehicles stolen in the province increased by 1 percent.
“Between 2015 and 2016, Ontario has seen an overall increase of 1 percent in auto theft, with considerable variations and fluctuations right across the province.” said Kim Donaldson, Vice President of Ontario at IBC. “Many of the high-end vehicles that are stolen in this province will end up in overseas markets or in chop shops where they will be scrapped for parts.”
Guelph, Ontario reported the largest auto theft activity increase in Canada at 49 percent, Windsor reported a 14 percent increase and St. Catharines experienced a 5 percent increase. Of Ontario’s two largest cities, Toronto reported a 4 percent increase while Ottawa experienced a 1 percent decline.
Theft was also down 17 percent in Sudbury, 12 percent in Barrie and London, 9 percent in Kingston, and 1 percent in Peterborough and Hamilton. The rate of recovery for stolen vehicles increased to 60 percent in the province, up 2 percent from the previous year.
The most frequently stolen vehicles according to the IBC were:
1. 2016 Toyota 4Runner 4-door 4WD SUV
2. 2015 Toyota 4Runner 4-door 4WD SUV
3. 2006 Chevrolet Tahoe 4WD and GMC Yukon 4WD SUVs
4. 2003 Chevrolet Avalanche 1500 2WD Pick-Up
5. 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe 4WD and GMC Yukon 4WD SUVs
6. 2006 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 4WD and GMC Sierra 2500 4WD SUVs
7. 2003 Hummer H2 4-door 4WD SUV
8. 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe 4-door 4WD and GMC Yukon 4-door 4WD SUVs
9. 2014 Toyota 4-Runner 4-door 4WD SUV
10. 2005 Buick Rainier 4-door 2WD, Chevrolet Trailblazer 4-door 2WD and GMC Envoy SUVs
More information about auto theft can be found at ibc.ca.