Thatcham Research has revealed the international scale of the UK’s vehicle crime epidemic, identifying five key global destinations for stolen cars and calling for urgent action to disrupt the logistics networks supporting organised criminal gangs.
Working in partnership with the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS), Thatcham’s latest investigation shows that vehicles stolen from UK roads are being exported as far afield as the Democratic Republic of Congo, the UAE, Cyprus, Jamaica and Georgia. In 2024 alone, insurers paid out £640m in claims relating to stolen vehicles.
Despite the UK having the highest vehicle security standards in the world – developed over decades through Thatcham Research’s testing and policy leadership – a car was stolen every five minutes last year. Most of these thefts are no longer opportunistic, but carried out by sophisticated, well-funded gangs using specialist electronics and global shipping routes.
According to NaVCIS data, 52% of all intercepted vehicles were from premium and luxury manufacturers, and 79% were SUVs, underlining their desirability on the international black market.
The top destination, the Democratic Republic of Congo, received 38.5% of intercepted vehicles between 2021 and 2024, with its central African location and deep seaport making it a prime distribution hub.
Other drivers of demand include natural disasters, such as the UAE floods in April 2024, which triggered a spike in thefts of a popular SUV model due to shortages in dealer stock.
While official replacements were delayed by months, criminals exploited the gap, with stolen cars arriving by sea in less than a month.
Cyprus and Jamaica, where drivers use right-hand-drive vehicles and local regulations favour imported models, were also identified as hotspots.
In Jamaica, a recent tariff on car imports has made stolen vehicles and parts more profitable, while Cyprus serves as a gateway to wider Mediterranean markets.
Georgia rounds out the top five destinations, with Thatcham linking the rise in exports to sanctions-related demand in neighbouring Russia and a shift in vehicle types.
Pickups made up 16.78% of intercepted vehicles in 2024, a significant increase from 4.71% the previous year.
Richard Billyeald, chief research and operations officer at Thatcham Research, said: “The casual theft and joy riding of the 80s and 90s has all but disappeared, with manufacturers having succeeded in making it very difficult for amateurs to steal modern vehicles.
“However, the organised criminal gangs who have replaced them are well-funded and sophisticated in their approach, combining specialist electronic equipment with an international logistics network.”
He added: “Raising vehicle security alone will not prevent thefts. We believe that beating these criminals requires cooperation between government agencies, vehicle manufacturers and ourselves to reduce the value of stolen assets and therefore the incentive to steal them.”
Thatcham Research called for new methods to safely remotely disable stolen vehicles and to make stolen parts more difficult to reuse.
The organisation, based in Berkshire, has led the development of UK vehicle security standards since 1993 and continues to provide data, testing and risk assessment tools to the automotive and insurance sectors.
