Merc Sprinter Remains Top Target For Van Thieves

As the battle for profitable home delivery routes intensifies, van theft is also rising. Here are some stats from hire and leasing experts at Vanarama for you.

The number of van thefts last year increased to 12,950 across the UK, an 18% jump from 2022’s total. Although the total is smaller compared to car thefts across the UK, which had a 5% increase and amounted to 64,087, it seems drivers just can’t get away from criminals targeting their vehicles.

The Mercedes-benz Sprinter 313 CDI was the van targeted the most in these crimes, 938 vans were stolen between January and December last year. This was 42% higher than the van ranked in second place which is another Mercedes model, the Mercedes-benz Sprinter 314 CDI, which was targeted 660 times. Rounding off the top three most stolen was the Ford Transit 350, with 601 reported as stolen last year according to the DVLA.

BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH

March had the most van thefts throughout the year, with 1,262 occurring during the month. Up 8% on the next highest month which is January with 1,165. The darker nights could cause more criminal activity, March is the last month before the lighter nights appear as it’s the month of daylight saving. March is also when new car registrations are released, so this too could impact the figures.

You’re less likely to get your van stolen during the summer, the data suggests. In June only 932 van thefts occurred across the month, 35% less than March. The lighter nights could be putting off criminals as they could be spotted more easily.

As one of the best-selling brands for both cars and vans across the UK, the manufacturer Ford saw the most vans stolen with 6,807 last year. 53% of the total vans stolen belonged to the manufacturer. However, with over 1million LGVs on the road, it’s no surprise that Ford has higher theft rates than other manufacturers. Using the total number of Ford Transits on UK roads according to Statista and figures obtained through the FOI, only 0.6% would have been stolen.

Mercedes and Vauxhall had the next highest number of van thefts across the year, again both popular manufacturers in the van market. It seems thieves are targeting whatever van they can find, and ones with potential goods inside, as it was revealed that nearly a quarter of tradespeople had tools stolen last year.