The number of car thefts is increasing, the highest in Limburg

Arriving in an empty parking lot with the key in your hand: in the first 4 months of 2023, almost 3,000 Dutch people were already victims of car theft. The number of stolen cars is almost 6% higher than last year and even 31% higher than two years earlier. Especially in Limburg, there is a good chance that your car will be stolen from the highway. This is shown by research by Independence according to data from the police and Statistics Netherlands.

From January to April this year, 2,972 cars were stolen. In the same period of 2022, there were 2,810 thefts, which is an increase of 5.8%. In 2021 there were only 2,269 incidents in the first four months of the year, so compared to the previous two years there is an increase of one third. It is also surprising that not all cars are equally known in the thieves’ guild. Last year, the most popular car to steal was Toyota. No less than 1 in 6 stolen cars belonged to this Japanese car brand. “Especially the 83% increase in the theft of Toyota cars hits me hard. Insuring a Toyota has not yet become more expensive, but it could become so if this trend continues,” explains car expert Menno Dijcks of the Independer.

Limburg is a car theft province, Friesland is relatively safe

Car theft is a national problem, but there are significant regional differences.

For example, cars are the least safely parked in Limburg. This is because 8.3 burglaries take place here for every 10,000 households; more than twice the national average. “You are only covered against car theft if you have WA plus or Allrisk insurance. If you only have WA insurance you are falling out of the boat. So think carefully about this when you take out car insurance. If you compare, take a good look at what WA plus costs more than WA insurance. Then make the right decision,” says car insurance expert Menno Dijcks.

On top of auto theft tickets you will find statistics for your province or municipality.

The safest region to park in is Friesland. In the first 4 months of the year, only 0.5 cars were stolen for every 10,000 households in this northern state. In Zeeland, too, criminals keep their mobility low, with ‘only’ 0.7 stolen cars per 10,000. The national average is 3.7 burglaries per 10,000 households.

You have to be careful in these municipalities, Limburgse Beek has the biggest chance

More than a quarter of all stolen cars in the Netherlands are stolen in Amsterdam, Rotterdam or The Hague (26.9%). But thefts are also often reported in Eindhoven, Nijmegen and Utrecht.

However, it is not the big cities that have a high chance of car theft in relation to the number of households. That dubious honor is given to Beek in Limburg. An average of 19 cars are stolen here for every 10,000 households.

“Of course there are differences in payment between cars prone to theft and cars with low theft. This is particularly evident in WA plus and Allrisk insurance policies, because they cover theft. For example, comprehensive insurance for a Volkswagen Golf is almost double the price of a Kia Picanto, which is less prone to theft. The average annual price for a Kia Picanto is €846 compared to €1,655 for a Volkswagen Golf. The difference between WA and WA Plus is €445 per year for these models,” says Independer car insurance expert Menno Dijcks.

There is even better news for the 67 municipalities: not a single car was stolen here this year. Wondering if your municipality is included? See all statistics on the research page: https://www.independer.nl/autoverzekering/info/theft/onderzoek/autotheft-2023