2025 is the latest full year of DVLA theft data. Analysts agree on the top of the table: Ford is the most stolen make and the Fiesta the most stolen model, with BMW and Toyota next. They disagree on the total, because each asked the DVLA a different question. This page sets out the 2025 figures and keeps theft counts apart from theft risk.
The most stolen car makes of 2025
What Car?'s analysis of DVLA data counted 7,677 Fords stolen in 2025, ahead of BMW, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz and Land Rover. Loss adjuster QuestGates named the same top three from its own DVLA freedom of information (FOI) data. MotorEasy ran a separate FOI extraction, with higher counts for most makes.
| Position | What Car? (DVLA data) | QuestGates (DVLA FOI, top three) | MotorEasy (separate FOI) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ford 7,677 | Ford | Ford 8,362 |
| 2 | BMW 5,489 | BMW | BMW 6,176 |
| 3 | Toyota 4,518 | Toyota | Toyota 5,475 |
| 4 | Mercedes-Benz 3,992 | Not given | Land Rover 3,939 |
| 5 | Land Rover 3,690 | Not given | Mercedes-Benz 3,856 |
MotorEasy's list continues with Nissan 3,671, Volkswagen 3,661, Audi 3,615, Vauxhall 2,755 and Lexus 2,017. The same article puts the total at around 60,900 cars, a 12.8% rise, which contradicts the falls of 11-13% reported by Tracker, What Car? and QuestGates.
The notable change is Land Rover. QuestGates found it dropped out of the top three with almost 30% fewer thefts than in 2024, and Toyota took third place.
The most stolen car models
What Car? counted 3,511 Fiesta thefts in 2025, more than the Volkswagen Golf (1,625) and Ford Focus (1,474) combined. MotorEasy has the same top four, then the order shifts and each list has one model the other lacks. Rows follow What Car?'s order, with positions in brackets.
| Model | What Car? 2025 | MotorEasy 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Ford Fiesta | 3,511 (1st) | 3,511 (1st) |
| Volkswagen Golf | 1,625 (2nd) | 1,604 (2nd) |
| Ford Focus | 1,474 (3rd) | 1,456 (3rd) |
| Toyota RAV4 | 1,319 (4th) | 1,328 (4th) |
| BMW 3 Series | 1,249 (5th) | 1,131 (7th) |
| Nissan Juke | 1,200 (6th) | 1,191 (5th) |
| Toyota C-HR | 967 (7th) | 962 (8th) |
| Lexus NX | 951 (8th) | 946 (9th) |
| Range Rover Evoque | 895 (9th) | Not in top 10 |
| Vauxhall Corsa | 874 (10th) | 880 (10th) |
| Land Rover Discovery | Not in top 10 | 1,160 (6th) |
In 2024 there were 4,446 Fiesta thefts among about 61,343 cars stolen, according to DVLA FOI data requested by What Car? and Tempcover.
Group DVLA thefts by the full variant description and the order changes. Tempcover's trim-level analysis, reported by Carwow, puts the Toyota C-HR Dynamic HEV CVT first with 437 thefts, up 28% from 342. The Fiesta Zetec is second with 425, down from 556, followed by the Fiesta Titanium Turbo (328), the Fiesta Zetec Turbo (318) and the Nissan Juke Tekna CVT (290). Fiesta thefts are spread across many trims, so no single Fiesta variant beats the C-HR Dynamic.
How many cars were stolen in 2025, and why the totals differ
All six figures come from DVLA records but differ in what was counted (all vehicles, cars or private cars) and when the data was extracted.
| Publisher | What it counts | 2025 total |
|---|---|---|
| DVLA, FOI reply FOIR13623 (Aug 2026) | All vehicle types | 91,792 |
| QuestGates (Feb 2026) | All vehicles | 90,625 |
| Tracker (Apr 2026) | All vehicles | 90,509 |
| What Car? (Feb 2026) | Cars (reported as vehicles) | 54,830 |
| Tempcover, via Carwow | Cars by variant (reported as vehicles) | 54,145 |
| QuestGates (Feb 2026) | Private cars | 53,629 |
Tracker's FOI showed an 11% fall, as did What Car?'s count. QuestGates found all-vehicle thefts down 11.36% from 102,240 in 2024, and private-car thefts down 13.30% from 61,857.
The all-vehicle totals include a lot that is not a car. Our tally of the body types in the FOIR13623 spreadsheet finds 16,607 motorcycles, 8,354 panel vans, 2,719 scooters and 2,134 pick-ups. Car body styles add up to about 55,079, led by 5-door hatchbacks (22,458) and estates (17,816).
Theft count versus theft risk
A high count can simply reflect a large number of cars on the road. To compare risk you need thefts per registered car. DVLA FOI reply FOIR12391 covers cars first registered from 2022 to 2024 and stolen in the same window. Our calculation from it gives 11,668 stolen out of 5,600,649 registered, or 2.1 per 1,000. That is cumulative over the whole 2022-2024 cohort, not an annual rate.
Among makes with at least 10,000 cars registered, Lexus stands out at 7.2 per 1,000 (313 of 43,700), against Kia 3.5, BMW 3.4, Land Rover 3.1 and Toyota 2.8. By model (5,000 or more registered), again cumulative:
- Lexus RX: 23.2 per 1,000 (141 of 6,072)
- Hyundai Ioniq 5: 16.5 per 1,000 (262 of 15,910)
- Kia EV6: 15.2 per 1,000 (249 of 16,412)
- Toyota RAV4: 12.4 per 1,000 (284 of 22,899)
- Kia Niro: 7.1 per 1,000, but the highest count of any model at 444
- Toyota C-HR 3.5, Ford Fiesta 2.6, new-generation Lexus NX 0.6 (8 of 13,206)
The new-generation Lexus NX sits well below the 2.1 average, even though Lexus has the highest rate of the larger makes. The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner's 2024 figures, an annual rate for one region, show Ford with the most thefts (2,948, or 18 per 1,000 registered cars) and Land Rover with the highest rate at 32 per 1,000. The bases differ, so do not compare them with the DVLA rates.
How many stolen cars come back
From DVLA data, QuestGates puts the share of stolen cars recovered at 44.94% in 2025, up from 42.48%, with average time to recovery down from 27.1 to 25.6 days. The later FOIR13623 reply covers all vehicle types, with status checked at 31 July 2026: 45,187 recovered and 46,505 not, about 49%.
"Recovered" is not the same as "back on the drive". In the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), only 25.6% of stolen vehicles were returned to their owner in the year ending March 2025, down from 44.1% two years earlier. That rests on just 65 incidents.
Tracker's April 2026 release says 95% of stolen vehicles fitted with its device are recovered, half within four hours and 80% back with owners within 24 hours. That is self-reported, for its own fitted vehicles. The same release says only 13% of stolen vehicles were recovered by police in 2022-2025. It gives no source for that figure, which conflicts with the DVLA data above.
How cars are being stolen now
In CSEW thefts of vehicles, the offender manipulated the signal from a remote locking device (relay or jamming) in 46.7% of incidents in the year ending March 2025. That is down from 57.6% a year earlier but up from 12.7% in the year ending March 2019. The latest figure rests on only 51 unweighted incidents. A key or fob was used in 16.7% of incidents, down from 32.5% two years earlier.
Admiral told Which? that 60-70% of cars stolen in the previous 12 months were keyless models (July 2024). Tracker says 93% of the vehicles it recovered from January to October 2025 were taken without the keys.
Where stolen cars end up
Thatcham Research says thieves concentrate on cars aged five to nine. Some stolen cars are broken up for parts rather than sold whole. In 2024 Tracker and police shut 60 chop shops, made 144 arrests and recovered 179 vehicles at those sites. Tracker said high-volume models such as the Nissan Juke and Kia Sportage were increasingly targeted to feed demand for second-hand parts.
Others leave the country. Of stolen vehicles intercepted for export by the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS) in 2021-2024, 52% were premium or luxury makes and 79% were SUVs. The top destinations were DR Congo (38.5%) and the UAE (20.1%).
The wider trend in England and Wales
Police-recorded theft or unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle was 115,448 in the year ending March 2026, down 5.1% from 121,630. It has fallen three years running since the 129,973 peak in the year ending March 2023. The series covers all motor vehicle types in England and Wales, with no make breakdown, so it does not line up with the DVLA totals. In the same ONS tables, the CSEW estimate of thefts of vehicles fell from 102,000 to 70,000 between the years ending March 2025 and March 2026.
All police-recorded vehicle offences fell 11% to 312,250 in the year ending March 2026. Thatcham Research says insurers settled vehicle theft claims worth £640m in 2024. Few cases lead to a charge: only 2.8% of vehicle offences ended in a charge or summons in the year ending March 2026, and 83.2% were closed with no suspect identified.
What reduces risk
- Manufacturer updates. Ask your dealer whether your model has security software updates or a motion-sensing "sleep" fob. The low rate for the new-generation Lexus NX suggests newer factory security helps.
- Physical locks. A good steering or pedal lock is visible through the window. It slows a thief but can be cut.
- Key storage. Keep fobs, including the spare, in a tested signal-blocking pouch or box away from doors and windows. Keys also get taken in burglaries, so keep them out of sight.
- Parking. A garage, a lit driveway or another car parked across yours makes a quiet theft harder.
- OBD lock. A lock on the diagnostic port slows key programming. It does nothing against relay attacks or CAN injection through other wiring.
Where a hidden GPS tracker fits
A GPS tracker does not prevent theft. It is not an immobiliser or an alarm. It tells you quickly that the car has moved and shows you and the police where it is. Most vehicle offences close without a suspect, so a live location gives officers a lead. See car theft protection with a tracker for how one fits with the steps above.
OBD plug-in trackers are easier for a thief to find and pull out. A hidden wired unit such as the Teltonika FMC920, which is 12 mm thin, can sit out of sight and send movement, towing (movement with the ignition off), unplug and jamming alerts. See how stolen vehicle recovery works or browse hidden car theft trackers. Plans start from £5.99 a month inc VAT per vehicle, with a 14-day free trial and no setup fee.
Small fleets and vans
In our tally of the DVLA spreadsheet, panel vans made up 8,354 of the 91,792 vehicles stolen in 2025, and pick-ups 2,134. The data has no make breakdown for vans. For a small fleet the same measures apply: key control at the depot, secure parking and alerts that reach someone at night. See van fleet tracking for the fleet side.
Theft guides by make
- Ford theft in the UK: the most stolen make of 2025, led by the Fiesta.
- Toyota RAV4 and C-HR theft: Toyota's rise to third and the RAV4's high theft rate.
- Lexus theft in the UK: the highest theft rate of the larger makes.
- Range Rover theft: Land Rover's fall of almost 30% in 2025.
- BMW theft in the UK: second in all three 2025 make rankings.
- Mercedes-Benz theft: fourth or fifth by count, depending on the analyst.
- Nissan Juke theft: fifth or sixth by model in 2025, depending on the analyst, and the parts trade.
- Kia and Hyundai theft: high EV6 and Ioniq 5 theft rates.
- Volkswagen Golf theft: second by model in 2025, and why count is not risk.
Questions owners ask
What is the most stolen car in the UK?
The Ford Fiesta, with 3,511 thefts in 2025 in What Car?'s analysis of DVLA data. By exact variant, Tempcover found the Toyota C-HR Dynamic HEV CVT on top with 437.
Which car brand is stolen most?
Ford by count, then BMW and Toyota. By theft rate, Lexus is highest of the larger makes: 7.2 per 1,000 cars first registered in 2022-2024, against 2.1 overall.
How many cars were stolen in the UK in 2025?
The DVLA's FOIR13623 reply gives 91,792 vehicles of all types. Car-level counts run from 53,629 (QuestGates, private cars) to 54,830 (What Car?, which describes them as vehicles). MotorEasy's estimate of around 60,900 conflicts with both.
What percentage of stolen cars are recovered?
QuestGates puts the 2025 recovery rate for stolen cars at 44.94%. The later DVLA reply, covering all vehicle types, shows about 49% recovered by 31 July 2026. Recovered does not always mean returned to the owner.
Will a tracker stop my car being stolen?
No. A tracker alerts you that the car has moved and helps police find it. Locks, key storage, parking and manufacturer security are what lower the risk.
About this guide: Fleetalyse sells GPS trackers. Every figure here comes from the sources listed below, and where we have totalled or divided DVLA FOI figures ourselves, we say so.
Sources
- FOI response FOIR13623, DVLA (2026)
- FOI response FOIR12391, DVLA (2025)
- Ford Fiesta named Britain's most stolen car, Car Dealer Magazine (2026)
- Most stolen car makes and models in 2025, QuestGates (2026)
- UK's most stolen makes and models in 2025, Fleet World (2026)
- Most stolen cars and brands in 2025, MotorEasy (2026)
- Cars most likely to be stolen, Carwow (2026)
- Most stolen cars of 2024, LBC (2025)
- Car thefts by make in the West Midlands, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner (2025)
- Stolen vehicle recoveries in 2025, Tracker Network (UK) (2026)
- Keyless thefts, Tracker Network (UK) (2025)
- Chop shops shut in 2024, Tracker Network (UK) (2025)
- Keyless tech and car thefts, Which? (2024)
- Nature of crime: vehicle-related theft, Office for National Statistics (2026)
- Crime in England and Wales: appendix tables, Office for National Statistics (2026)
- Crime in England and Wales: year ending March 2026, Office for National Statistics (2026)
- Crime outcomes 2025 to 2026, Home Office (2026)
- Crime and Policing Act 2026, Thatcham Research (2026)
- Global connections behind UK vehicle theft, Thatcham Research and NaVCIS (2025)