In Spain, an average of 25,000 cars are stolen each year, according to statistics from the Ministry of the Interior. In 2022, a total of 24,990 vehicles were stolen, and although this is a 5.4% decrease from 2021, it is a worrying figure and an example of a trend in these crimes. Practically this is about 68 vehicles on an average every day.
Spain ranks 17th in the classification of European countries with the highest number of kidnappings, behind countries such as Italy, Portugal or France. The transalpine country tops the list of European places with the highest number of vehicle thefts, followed by the Czech Republic and Greece.
Vehicle thieves adopt different tactics to steal. For example, one of the latest strategies is to use sound barriers, which are placed in cars in such a way that they prevent the waves sent by the car remote from making contact with the vehicle’s sensors, and thus, a vehicle. is not properly locked, something that thieves take advantage of to commit crimes.
What are the provinces and communities with the highest number of car thefts in Spain?
Seat Ibiza, Seat Leon and Volkswagen Golf are the types of cars most commonly stolen. According to HelloSafe data, all three have topped the most stolen list for the past three years. Of course, the best recommendation to avoid getting robbed is to never leave the ignition keys inside or leave relevant documents or items visible or hidden inside. But with varying strategies, the threat will always be there.
By regions, Ceuta, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Barcelona are the provinces with the highest number of car thefts, taking into account the ratio of thefts per 10,000 cars, as each city or province has many residents and is not the same. Count the robberies of a small town with those of a big city.
Thus, the province of Ceuta has a ratio of 24.5 thefts per 10,000 cars, although a total of 103 cars were stolen during 2022; In the province of the island, 23.2 robberies for every 10,000 inhabitants, with 178,0009 vehicles stolen, and in the province of Barcelona, ​​20.5 car thefts for every 10,000 vehicles, reaching 2,469,693 robberies. In contrast, the provinces with the lowest ratios are Lugo (1.1), Cáceres (1.5) and Teruel (1.8). By car units, due to its density, the list is led by Madrid, which has 3,882,958 vehicles (though a ratio of 17.8 thefts per 10,000 cars), Barcelona and Valencia (1,293,340 units, with a ratio of 10.3 thefts per 10,000). with) city). Thus, Andalusia (18%), Catalonia (23.9%) and the Community of Madrid (24%) are the autonomous communities with the largest number of vehicle thefts.
