The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders is calling for authorities to collect more detailed data about how vehicles are being stolen.
Currently the SMMT says there is little understanding of trends in types of theft because a small number of police forces collect and analyse data.
The SMMT claims this can lead to “skewed public perceptions” about the regularity of the types of vehicle theft across the country.
According to data released by the Office for National Statistics, the number of vehicles stolen in England and Wales fell by 70% in the last decade from 231,323 thefts in 2004 to 69,547 in 2014. According to the ONS, this is the lowest figure since 1968.
The SMMT said the reduction in vehicle theft follows an effort by car makers to make vehicles more secure by investing billions of pounds each year, and the introduction of advanced security systems as standard has helped make vehicles harder to steal.
“Thanks to significant investments by car manufacturers in the latest security systems, vehicle thefts across England and Wales are at the lowest levels for decades,” said Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive.
“We are, however, calling for better tracking of how different vehicles are stolen so that we have an accurate understanding of how criminals are operating and can develop future technology to eradicate vehicle crime,” said Hawes.
