UK Car Theft Hotspots Cities and Towns Where Cars Are Most Stolen

Car thefts are a problem in the UK. Some areas have it worse than others. Older cars are easier to steal. Organized crime also plays a big role, reports say. Stolen cars can be easily sold overseas. Cities with many people have more thefts.

Last year, over 61,000 cars got stolen. This is the third-highest number in ten years. Car thefts more than doubled since 2015. Insurers paid out £11.7 billion for motor claims.

Birmingham has the most car thefts outside London. The city had 3,220 stolen cars per 100,000. Manchester, Leeds, and Sheffield follow behind. Car crime hits these cities hard.

Barking, in East London, has the worst car theft. They had 152 cars stolen in 2024. That’s about 648 thefts per 100,000 vehicles.

Other London areas also face a lot of car thefts. This larger area had 8,145 stolen vehicles last year. Barking’s rate is still much worse though.

Toyota was the most stolen car brand in Barking. Thieves stole 25 Toyotas. Mercedes-Benz was second, with 18 thefts. BMW came third, with 12 cars stolen.

Here are the top twenty UK areas for car theft and their rate:

Barking: 152 cars, rate of 648. Hayes: 121 cars, rate of 569. Birmingham: 3,220 cars, rate of 557. Thornton Heath: 93 cars, rate of 539. Dagenham: 299 cars, rate of 538.

London: 8,145 cars, rate of 533. Enfield: 370 cars, rate of 527. Ilford: 416 cars, rate of 526. Smethwick: 131 cars, rate of 514. Beckenham: 129 cars, rate of 505.

West Wickham: 58 cars, rate of 497. Woodford Green: 96 cars, rate of 493. Welling: 95 cars, rate of 482. Rainham: 101 cars, rate of 478. West Bromwich: 168 cars, rate of 466.

Bilston: 141 cars, rate of 461. Bexleyheath: 120 cars, rate of 461. Edgeware: 147 cars, rate of 448. Willenhall: 134 cars, rate of 432. Erith: 104 cars, rate of 430.