- The Range Rover is the second most stolen vehicle in the UK, with the highest number of thefts occurring in London.
- Insurance brokers have refused to insure London-based Range Rovers, or doubled the rates.
- Reportedly no new size Range Rovers have been stolen yet.
Range Rovers are a common sight in the world’s metropolises, built to handle mud and gravel, but more commonly seen gliding up to the valet at a fancy restaurant. Even on London’s busy and sometimes narrow streets, a wafting rover is a popular choice, whether for genuine royals or just the very well-heeled. But in Britain’s capital city, Range Rovers have become popular with the more nefarious set.
Thief. (Or, as a London bobby might call them, the criminal element.) According to a recent report in UK magazine autocarRange Rovers have become the second most popular vehicle to be stolen in the UK, with 5,200 due to be scrapped by 2022. Most of these thefts happened in London, and insurance companies took notice. (We know you’ll ask: The UK’s most frequently stolen car in 2022 was the Ford Fiesta.)
This is not like the recent thefts of Hyundai and Kias. Rather than pranksters on TikTok, many of these Range Rovers are said to be stolen by a network of professional thieves who take advantage of keyless entry technology. Apparently it’s all too easy to fence a hot Range Rover, either locally or by shipping it overseas, never to be seen again. according to an investigator interviewed by autocar, The problem isn’t with some security flaw, but simply because the Range Rover is a rough and valuable target. Crime Pays.
On the other hand, insurance companies don’t take pleasure in getting paid. Premiums for Range Rovers in the UK have reportedly skyrocketed, in some cases doubling. That’s assuming you can get coverage at all, as some insurers won’t cover a Range Rover. autocar Did your homework here requesting a quote on the current full-size Range Rover vs the similarly priced Bentley Bentayga. Quotes on the Rover topped out at the equivalent of $7200, double to triple the prices quoted for the Bentayga.
The reported thefts are of older Range Rover models, not current ones. JLR representatives noted autocar that they were working on a solution to the insurance issue and further pointed to advanced security features available through the company’s remote app. CD We’ve also contacted the vehicle manufacturer for additional comment.
Back in the day, a jaguar was a hot target
As fun aside, this isn’t Jaguar Land Rover’s first experience as the criminals’ choice. In the 1960s, Jaguar’s Mk II sedan was the choice of Roy “The Weasel” James, a getaway driver in several brazen robberies. In those cases, the jug was chosen for its ability to outperform copper. Here, the Range Rover itself is a windfall.
The most stolen vehicle in America is the Ford F-150, a result of its ubiquity. But there have also been periodic hot spots of Range Rover thefts — a brief flood occurred just north of the border in Edmonton, Alberta, where thieves made off with six 2017-2021 model Land Rover products.
So if you own a Range Rover, maybe invest in the best immobilizer and vehicle tracking technology you can afford. And if you see a bunch of shitty-looking figures with Cockney accents, best to pack the garages extra tight.
contributing editor
Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, BC, Canada. He grew up cracking his knuckles on British automobiles, came up on the golden age of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the contrast between humanity and machinery, whether it be the racing of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is forever grateful for an excuse to buy Hot Wheels.