Ford takes top three spots on most-stolen SUV list

By Richard Read, Richard Read

Published October 10, 2016

2013 Ford Escape (Ford)

Generally speaking, auto thieves gravitate toward cars, especially perennial targets like the Honda Accord and Civic. But as everyone knows, SUVs and crossovers are big business in America, and they're not immune to crime.

Which SUVs and crossovers rank highest with the nation's ne'er-do-wells? The National Insurance Crime Bureau pored over police reports, insurance claims, and other sources to find out.

Its rankings are based on vehicles reported stolen over a three year period, from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2013. To simplify matters, the organization focused solely on three model years: 2011, 2012, and 2013. Using those criteria, NICB was left with 21,711 SUV and crossover thefts to analyze.

Given the popularity of compact crossovers, it's not too surprising that they were the biggest targets. Large compacts came in second, followed by their mid-size kin. Here's a rundown of thefts by class:

Compact crossover: 6,981
Large crossover: 3,206
Mid-Sized crossover: 3,204
Large SUV: 2,902
Premium crossover: 2,394
Premium SUV: 1,560
Compact SUV: 856
Mid-Sized SUV: 555
Pickup SUV: 53

American models were more far popular targets for theft than their Asian competitors. (No European model made the top-ten list, though that could change if Volkswagen gets its way.) NICB's ten most-stolen SUVs and crossovers for 2010-2013 were:

Ford Escape: 1,421
Ford Edge: 1,140
Ford Explorer: 958
Jeep Grand Cherokee: 912
Kia Sorento: 725
Chevrolet Traverse: 720
Nissan Rogue: 695
Honda CR-V: 688
Toyota RAV4: 665
Chevrolet Equinox: 648

Several of those models have been on NICB's top-ten list for a while. In fact, the Escape was #1 in the last survey we saw -- though back then, Ford didn't manage to take the #2 and #3 spots, as it did this year. Maybe Ford should take that as a compliment?

For complete details about the NICB's study, check out this PDF.

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