Revealed: France’s most desirable cars for thieves

Around 110,000 cars are stolen each year in France, costing insurance companies around €1.2 billion. 

 

But which cars do the thieves prefer?

 

French drivers' organisation 40 Million d'Automobilistes has put together a list of the cars that are the most commonly stolen, noting that smaller cars are becoming all the more popular among thieves. 

 

The group's president Pierre Chasseray said that three quarters of car thefts are carried out on electric cars, adding that cars made in France also proved popular. 

 

Indeed, eight of the ten most stolen models are French made.

 

“In addition to being quite easy to steal, French cars are easy to recirculate and their car parts are in demand,” Chasseray told BFM TV. 

 

Coming in at number one on the list was the two seater Smart Fortwo, which was stolen in 11.87 percent of all car thefts nationwide between July 1st in 2014 and June 30th this year. 

 

The same car topped last year's list too, but only with 8.5 percent of the total. 

 

(The Smart ForTwo car – France's most desirable voiture for thieves. Photo: AFP)

 

1. Smart Fortwo (11.87 percent)

2. Ford Fiesta (10.94 percent)

3. Peugeot 406 (5.81 percent)

4. Renault Twingo II (3.92 percent)

5. Twingo (3.82 percent)

6. Mégane 2 (3.29 percent)

7. Citroën Xsara Picasso (3.29 percent)

8. Renault Clio 1 (3.27 percent)

9. Seat Leon (3.23 percent)

10. Peugeot 308 SW (3.22 percent)

 

When it comes to vandalism, the BMW 1 Series E88 Convertible was hit in 10 percent of vandalism cases, followed by the BMW X6 E71, the Citroen C3 Pluriel, the Mazda MX5, the Mini Mini R50, and the Audi TT, which were all at 7 percent.