Range Rovers are some of the most stolen cars in the UK with around one in every 100 targeted by thieves last year, exclusive analysis reveals.
DVLA data shows that three of the top five cars in the list are the Velar, Sport and standard Range Rover models, with the brand’s Evoque placing sixth and the Land Rover Discovery in seventh.
The most stolen popular car model last year – as a proportion of the number licenced to go on the road against the number of thefts – was the Lexus RX with more than 1 in 50 being taken, according to data obtained by car leasing firm LeaseLoco and analysed by .
The second most targeted car was the Range Rover Velar, with 560 out of 382,286 – 1 in 68 – being stolen. When looking all four models of Range Rover together around 1 in 100 were stolen last year – 4,451 out of 456,139 on the streets.
It comes after Range Rover and Land Rover owners have found the cars to be effectively uninsurable, being unable to get quotes from the Jaguar Land Rover’s own insurance firm and being offered quotes of £14,000 a year from others.
Insurers are treating the vehicles with caution due to the high levels of theft.
JLR boss Adrian Mardell made angry protestations this month that Range Rovers are not ‘Britain’s most stolen vehicle’ as he announced the firm’s financial results.
He said the thefts had fallen by 27 per cent last year compared to 2022 and that new models were especially secure. Mr Mardell said that only 11 out of 12,800 of the most recent model had been stolen, according to police data.
‘There is no reason whatsoever why any insurance company should not gladly and readily insure those new vehicles. Zero reason, in any part of the country,’ he said.
‘The insurance industry clearly are not using the information and the data… they are very slow to respond to data.’
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To use our interactive graphic, hover your mouse or tap on a model of car to see how likely it is that it was stolen in 2023:
The most stolen popular car model last year, as a proportion of the number licenced to go on the road, was the Lexus RX with more than 1 in 50 being taken
Range Rover owner Mark Perring (his car pictured) owner said he was quoted £14,000 for an insurance policy on his four-year-old car – and that the manufacturer will not cover him at all
Land Rover have been criticised after not being able to offer insurance for their own vehicles
The second most targeted car was the Range Rover Velar, with 560 out of 382,286 - 1 in 68 - being stolen
But insurance expert Daniel Lloyd-John, told that the figures analysed by bore out the picture provided by underwriters at the UK's leading insurers.
EXCLUSIVEREAD MORE: No wonder they're uninsurable! Range Rover owner hands back his four-year-old model when he is quoted £14,000 for insurance - and it is stolen one day later
He said firms were finding it 'uneconomic' to insure certain cars, as the frequency of thefts - and therefore insurance claims - determines the price and availability of policies - and drivers were turning away from these cars as a result.
And sources have told that an underwriter at a major insurance firm reported that one third of all Range Rovers they insure in London had been stolen.
According to analysis of the DVLA data, the car most likely to be stolen in Britain in 2023 was the Lexus RX SUV, with 865 out of 40,099 - or 1 in 46 - licenced vehicles (excluding SORN) being nabbed by thieves.
Cars and manufacturers which are rarely seen on British roads, such as Bentley and Rolls Royce, have been excluded from the analysis.
In second place is the Range Rover Velar, with 560 out of 382,286 - 1 in 68 - being stolen.
Around one in 82 - 1,625 out of 133,629 - Range Rover Sports were stolen in 2023, giving it third place on the list.
In fourth place is other Range Rovers (except the Velar, Sport and Evoque) with 777 out of 86,607 - or 1 in 111 - being stolen.
Fifth is the Toyota Rav4, of which 1,164 out of 142,919 models on the road being stolen in 2023, or 1 in 123.
Range Rover appears again in sixth place, with 1,489 out of 197,617 Evoques being stolen last year - around 1 in 133.
The Land Rover Discovery is in seventh, with 1,880 out of 273,678 - or 1 in 146 - being stolen in 2023.
In eighth place is the Ford Fiesta, with 5,976 out of 1,438,727 - 1 in 241 - vehicles stolen in 2023. The Fiesta, in terms of total thefts, was the most stolen car in 2023 but as it is the UK's most popular car, this is unsurprising.
The Toyota Rav4 is proportionally the fifth most stolen car in the UK of which 1,164 out of 142,919 models on the road being stolen in 2023, or 1 in 123
The Land Rover Discovery is proportionally the seventh most stolen car in the UK, with 1,880 out of 273,678 - or 1 in 146 - being stolen in 2023.
Kirsten Lijeskic, 38, had to declare her Range Rover off road after insurance was not renewed
Criminals usually go in pairs to steal keyless cars. One holds a transmitter and stands next to the vehicle while the other stands close to the house holding an amplifier
Mr Lloyd-John, chief executive of Broadway Insurance Brokers said of the figures: 'They make for fairly grim reading all-'round, showing not only the frequency with which these cars are stolen but the frequency of related insurance claims.
'It's that frequency which determines the price and availability of policies.
'Insurance is a business and it makes sense for insurers to provide motorists with cover but numbers like these demonstrate how uneconomic that has become in relation to particular models.
'We work hard with underwriters to provide clients with detailed advice about how best they might secure cover if they intend to buy some of these vehicles.
'What we increasingly find, though, is that once drivers are aware of the risks associated with having one of the cars most targeted by thieves, they are choosing to buy another vehicle altogether.
'It illustrates how car crime - and trying to protect yourself against the risk of it happening - is impacting on the nature of car sales in this country.'
Lexus topped the list of popular brands for the proportion of their cars on the road being stolen, with 2,029 out of 182,207 cars - 1 in 90 - being stolen in 2023.
Land Rover, which includes Range Rovers under its brand, was second with 6,620 out of 1,021,978 or 1 in 154 being taken by thieves last year.
Land Rover also saw the second-most thefts of brands in total, only behind Ford, the most popular car brand on British roads, which saw 10,914 vehicles stolen in 2023.
Range Rover sports utility vehicles (SUV) in the paint shop at the manufacturing plant in Solihull last year
Another Range Rover on the production line at Tata Motors Ltd's Jaguar Land Rover vehicle manufacturing plant
Land Rover's sister firm Jaguar, both under parent company Jaguar Land Rover, was next on the list with 1,384 out of 375,316 cars - 1 in 271 - being stolen last year.
Earlier this month, a Range Rover was stolen just one day after its frustrated owner handed the four-year-old model back to a finance company which quoted £14,000 for its insurance.
Business owner Mark Perring, 52, revealed last month that he was being quoted huge amounts for an insurance policy on his four by four after he was told Jaguar Land Rover's own insurance would not cover him.
The frustrated motorist decided to ditch the car brand for good and bought himself a new Mercedes GLE which he could insure for about a tenth of the price.
Instead of renewing the lease, Mr Perring returned the car to financiers Black Horse, who sent British Car Auctions to pick it up from his home in Loughton, Essex at around 4pm on Wednesday.
He was glad to be rid of the effectively uninsurable Range Rover Sport, but was woken at 2am on Friday with a call from a Met Police officer who asked him: 'Mr Perring, do you know your car has been stolen?'
And Range Rover Velar owner Kirsten Lijeskic, 38, said earlier this month that she has had to declare her car off road and will be forced to sell it at a loss of about £15,000 after insurers quoted her £890 a month.
She said she got the £56,000 wheels in September 2022 and had been paying £130 a month insurance for her and her husband with Acorn. But Kirsten, who lives in Winchmore Hill, north London, said Acorn will not renew their insurance with them and the car's own manufacturer also allegedly told her it 'cannot provide a quote'.
Jaguar Land Rover has been contacted for comment.
Toyota has been contacted for comment.