The UK areas that experience the worst vehicle thefts have been revealed, with startling figures coming to light. 

These are namely due to easy access to older cars with less security features, organised criminal networks known to target high-value vehicles, the ease of selling stolen vehicles overseas and concentrated populations in urban areas.

According to the DVLA, roughly 61,343 cars were reported stolen last year, making it the third-highest annual tally in a decade.

These figures also reveal that vehicle theft in 2024 was more than double the volume seen in 2015 and contributed to £11.7 billion in motor claims from insurers.

With vehicle theft on the rise in the UK, which region’s experience the highest amount of cars being stolen?

UK cities outside of London that saw vehicle owners being victims to the most car crimes, went to Birmingham with a staggering 3,220 stolen vehicles per 100,000, according to This Is Money and MailOnline.

This was followed by Manchester (912), Leeds (901) and Sheffield (899) with residents of these cities all falling victim to the most car crime outside of the capital

This Is Money’s analysis revealed one town in East London being prone to the worst motor crime of all.

The region of Barking came out as the worst spot for vehicle theft with a total of 152 stolen cars in 2024.

This makes the East London district the highest spot than any other postal city or town for cars being pinched and was calculated to be around 648 per 100,000 vehicles.

Barking isn’t the only spot with the most car thefts in London as the postal district of London which includes Chelsea, Southwark, Kensington and Chelsea, City of London, Tower Hamlets, Camden, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Islington, Wandsworth and Westminster, as well as region’s part of Greenwich, Lewisham, Lambeth, Newham and Waltham Forest – also saw the largest volume of car thefts in 2024.

A total of 8,145 vehicles were stolen from these parts of London last year which pales in comparison to Barking’s number of thefts.

When it comes to the most popular vehicles being stolen in Barking, Toyota came out on top with a total of 25 of these car brands being nicked.

After Toyota, the Mercedes-Benz came in at second with a total of 18 of these types of vehicles being stolen and is followed by BMW with a total of 12 reported stolen.

According to the analysis, the top 20 worst areas in the UK for car theft include: 

• Barking 152 stolen vehicles with a car theft rate of 648
• Hayes 121 stolen vehicles with a car theft rate of 569
• Birmingham 3,220 stolen vehicles with a car theft rate of 557
• Thornton Heath 93 stolen vehicles with a car theft rate of 539
• Dagenham 299 stolen vehicles with a car theft rate of 538
• London 8,145 stolen vehicles with a car theft rate of 533
• Enfield 370 stolen vehicles with a car theft rate of 527
• Ilford 416 stolen vehicles with a car theft rate of 526
• Smethwick 131 stolen vehicles with a car theft rate of 514
• Beckenham 129 stolen vehicles with a car theft rate of 505
• West Wickham 58 stolen vehicles with a car theft rate of 497
• Woodford Green 96 stolen vehicles with a car theft rate of 493
• Welling 95 stolen vehicles with a car theft rate of 482
• Rainham 101 stolen vehicles with a car theft rate of 478
• West Bromwich 168 stolen vehicles with a car theft rate of 466
• Bilston 141 stolen vehicles with a car theft rate of 461
• Bexleyheath 120 stolen vehicles with a car theft rate of 461
• Edgeware 147 stolen vehicles with a car theft rate of 448
• Willenhall 134 stolen vehicles with a car theft rate of 432
• Erith 104 stolen vehicles with a car theft rate of 430