A new car costs more than $50,000 these days, so it stands to reason we've never had less patience for car thieves. Stealing a Mitsubishi Mirage was one thing, that car only cost $16,695 brand-new in 2024. But now you're jacking my $22,625 Hyundai Elantra? These crooks have us looking back over our shoulder every step of the way from the parking lot into the grocery store.
It's even worse in Washington DC, where drivers have to put up with an auto theft rate of 373 stolen vehicles per 100,000 residents. That's according to our friends at Alan's Factory Outlet, who recently put together an informative study on car theft, finding that nobody has it worse than Hyundai owners living in the Nation's Capital.
Note
The following is based primarily on the study provided by Alan's Factory Outlet. Any conclusions or opinions offered herein are those of the author.
How Was This Study Conducted?
Alan's Factory Outlet started their study with a deep dive into data made available by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), focusing specifically on vehicle thefts taking place across the US in 2025. Additionally, Alan's Factory Outlet surveyed 1,000 car owners earlier this year to discover how the average American driver is responding to the threat of vehicle theft.
In particular, the study aims to identify patterns regarding brands and hotspots most commonly associated with theft, and explore methods by which a driver might protect their car, truck, SUV, wagon, or minivan. Of course, there's no way to guarantee that your car is never stolen, but the more you know, the better your odds of staying safe.
Thieves Love Elantras, And Sonatas Aren't Far Behind
Jumping right into the most-stolen vehicles, Asian brands like Hyundai and Honda make up some of the most common targets of auto theft, but drivers who buy domestic aren't exactly off the hook. Here's what the top 10 looks like, based on total reported thefts in the first half of 2025.
| H1 2025 Thefts | |
| Hyundai Elantra | 11,329 |
| Hyundai Sonata | 9,154 |
| Honda Accord | 8,531 |
| Chevrolet Silverado 1500 | 8,006 |
| Honda Civic | 6,396 |
| Kia Optima | 6,011 |
| Ford F-150 | 4,996 |
| Toyota Camry | 4,986 |
| Honda CR-V | 4,889 |
| Kia Soul | 4,380 |
There is naturally going to be some correlation here with total sales, and total thefts. Ford sold 828,842 F-Series pickups last year, the law of averages tells us that the truck is going to make the top 10. But, it's not a 1:1 correlation. Crooks swiped 3,010 more Chevy Silverados than Ford F-150s in the first two quarters of 2025, despite Chevrolet only selling 587,527 units last year.
The Kia Boys Are At It Again
The Elantra only sold 148,200 units in 2025. If we assume car thieves snatched as many Hyundais from July to December as they did from January to June, that means that they're stealing one Elantra for every six Hyundai sales.
This no doubt owes in large part to security weaknesses in Hyundais, and Kias, for that matter. Criminals are, first and foremost, opportunists. In the Elantra's case, the key vulnerability is that many of these cars don't have immobilizers. This means that that anyone who wants to steal a car for a joyride is going to get much further in an Elantra than they would in, say, a Ford Escape.
To be clear, these are 2025 thefts, but not 2025 models. Newer Elantras are equipped with engine immobilizers as a standard feature. Thieves are preying on the older ones. So don't let this scare you off of buying a brand-new Hyundai.
Sources: Alan's Factory Outlet, NCIB.
Read the full article on CarBuzz
This article originally appeared on CarBuzz and is republished here with permission.
