Business-owned vehicles nearly twice as likely to be hijacked than stolen

A business-owned vehicle stands nearly double the chance of being hijacked than stolen, compared to personal vehicles that have a 50/50 split.

This is according to Tracker’s vehicle crime statistics for January to June 2023, which reveal that a business-owned vehicle has a far higher hijacking propensity at 65% vs theft at 35%.

Overall, taking personal and business vehicles into account, hijackings still dominate, accounting for 55% of all national vehicle crime incidents vs theft at 45%.

The Tracker Vehicle Crime Index aggregates information from Tracker’s more than 1.1-million subscriptions. Tracker’s data indicates that a business vehicle is 59% more likely to experience vehicle crime and 32% more likely to experience hijacking than a personal vehicle.

Gauteng remains the province that experiences the most vehicle crime with 60% of the total incidents, followed by KwaZulu-Natal at 17% and the Western Cape at 9%.

Tracker’s data reveals the days of the week and times that vehicles are most likely to be hijacked or stolen. It says a higher proportion of vehicles are hijacked on Fridays, and between the hours of 11am and 3pm. Theft is mainly reported on Saturdays, and between the hours of 11am and 3pm.

“Crime sophistication varies provincially, usually linked to emerging crime opportunities, such as changes within regional transportation logistics,” says Duma Ngcobo, COO at Tracker.

“We are seeing the emergence of more sophisticated vehicle crime syndicates in Gauteng and escalating violence accompanying vehicle crime in KwaZulu-Natal. Businesses and consumers should remain aware of the risks, and always be vigilant on our roads.”

The latest crime statistics show about 60 vehicles are hijacked in South Africa every day. The police say 5,488 cars were hijacked in the first quarter of 2023/24 (April to June).

Tracker reports that it has made 122,518 vehicle recoveries, effected 20,784 arrests and recovered 1,104 firearms to date.