Stolen Vehicles Report Shows Decrease in Theft

The Mexican Association of Insurance Institutions’ (AMIS) annual “Report of Stolen and Recovered Insured Vehicles” shows a general decrease in vehicle theft from before the pandemic.

The report found 63,107 insured Mexican vehicles were reported as stolen between August 2020 and July 2021, averaging 173 vehicles stolen a day nationwide. While these numbers may seem bleak, they represent a 19 percent decrease in such crimes since the last report and a 2.6 percent decrease in the last six years.

According to AMIS, light cars were the most stolen vehicle followed by pick-ups, heavy vehicles and motorcycles. The 5 most stolen models from October 2020 to September 2021 were the Nissan Versa (3,419 stolen units), the Nissan Pick-up NP300 (2,550 stolen units), the Chevrolet Aveo (2,111 stolen units), the Chevrolet Beat (1,889 stolen units) and the Nissan Tsuru (1,806).

Location also played a large factor in these robberies, as 70 percent happened in only six states: State of Mexico, Jalisco, Mexico City, Guanajuato, Puebla and Veracruz. Furthermore, out of 2,456 total municipalities, vehicles stolen in Guadalajara made up 7.8 percent of all robberies with Ecatepec de Morelos seeing 6.4 percent and Zapopan having 3.2 percent.

Of the stolen vehicles, 28,910 were recovered, making up a rate of 46 percent, two percentage points higher than last year. However, 60 percent of these robberies involved violence. While not on one of the six states with most robberies, the city of Culiacan reported that 86.3 percent of vehicles stolen involved violence. Guerrero and Michoacan saw the highest rates of violent vehicle robbery with 78.8 percent and 72.5 percent, respectively, even though they also did not belong to the list of the six states with most vehicle theft.

Meanwhile, most vehicles stolen with violence were SUVs, with the KIA Sportage topping the list with 86.3 percent of the 439 units stolen, followed by Toyota Hilux with 85.4 percent of 566 units, the Mazda 3 with 79.7 percent of 463 units and the KIA Rio with 78.4 percent of units.

All-in-all, the report represents a decrease in theft that is a part of a larger trend in the country as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This trend has also seen a decrease in the number of homicides in the country, although not yet in femicides. The lessening of mobility has been attributed as the explanation of this decline in crime, with original assumptions that the decrease would only last as long as quarantines did. But more than a year into the pandemic and well into reopening campaigns across the country, the declines thankfully seem to continue.