Crime data reveals car thieves are far from green-fingered

Aside from the perceived green credentials of electric vehicles, a big new reason for adopting them is emerging, with crime figures suggesting that thieves have no interest in stealing them. Whether it’s down to range anxiety, the complexity, or fear of being caught red-handed at a charge point, an information request from DrivesToday to the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has revealed that evidence of electric vehicle theft isn’t just rare, it’s non-existent.

The statistical black hole was reported when the ABI, the UK’s insurance industry body, undertook a data search from its latest set of vehicle crime figures, while further historical searches indicated that no records exist, for thefts of electric cars in the UK.

In anecdotal evidence elsewhere, two Tesla Model Ss were stolen in Norway late last year despite the owners’ keys not being used, while Tesla reports that a study of 115 stolen models in the USA showed 112 were successfully recovered. The maker claims its cars are 90% less likely to attract criminal attention than similar internal combustion engined vehicles.

So does this mean that electric vehicle owners might want to question how much they pay for insurance against theft? Crime researchers at Thatcham advise against seeing your electric vehicle as a crime-proof investment. With electric vehicles still a very small part of the overall car parc, a spokesperson told DrivesToday, thieves may simply be working to the principal of supply and demand. "Historically, car theft has been driven by the market for parts for conventionally powered (internal combustion engine) vehicles. Generally, the more popular the car, the more numerically likely that it will be stolen by thieves.

Electric vehicles have not yet, Thatcham adds, reached a "tipping point where that becomes an equitable option. There is not yet a black market for EV parts. However, we predict this will change over time.