Auto Theft Declines, Muscle Cars Being Targeted Less Often

The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) has issued a report on car crime and the numbers are optimistic. Vehicle thefts in the United States have fallen by 23 percent during the first six months of 2025 and criminals seem to be getting less inclined to nab performance vehicles.

It’s the NICB’s belief that the United States should be on track to experience its second consecutive year of declining auto theft rates. But it attributed the initial increase to the pandemic without much of an explanation. Considering that thefts peaked in 2023, it’s plausible that it may have played a factor. However, it likewise seems to have become a convenient excuse for all sorts of mishaps that came after 2019.

“The significant declines we are seeing in 2025 demonstrate the effectiveness of collaborative efforts by law enforcement, automakers, insurers, and the National Insurance Crime Bureau,” said David J. Glawe, President and CEO of NICB. “While vehicle theft continues to impact communities across the country, NICB will continue fostering strong partnerships and the use of advanced data analytics to make meaningful progress in protecting consumers, holding criminals accountable and bringing peace of mind to American communities.”

It wasn’t all that long ago when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) reported that the Camaro was topping the stolen-vehicle charts for 2025. In August, the groups suggested that news of a technical glitch was being passed around by car thieves and led to a spike in boosted base Camaros and its supercharged ZL1 variant.

“Muscle cars have often topped this list, as thieves are attracted to vehicles with high horsepower,” stated Matt Moore, chief insurance operations officer at HLDI and IIHS. “That also helps explain why the more expensive, more powerful ZL1 is stolen so much more often than the standard Camaro.”

Based on the number of videos circulating online of V8-powered Dodges evading the police, one could be forgiven in assuming that the Charger and Challenger would be America’s most stolen car. While they’ve likewise made appetizing targets, it was apparently the Chevy that was receiving the most attention from thieves.

But performance cars seem to be getting safer as automotive theft declines in general. According to the NICB, vehicle thefts have seen a general decline over the last twelve months. Criminals are also once again focused on more mainstream models, many of which were already in the top ten most stolen vehicles from previous years.

The Hyundai Elantra always seems to be pretty high on that list. While lingering security exploits on select models from Korea may have participated in this, likely due to owners not having done the requisite software updates, it’s hardly the only reason. Most cars that get stolen are simply taken because they’re common models parked in high-crime areas.

In the report, the National Insurance Crime Bureau even mentions that most of the vehicles topping the charts today “remain largely consistent with recent years, with Hyundai, Honda, and Kia, along with some of the most popular pickup models in the U.S. dominating the top spots.”

In order, those models included the Hyundai Elantra (with 11,329 reports of theft over the last twelve months); 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); and Kia Soul (4,380).

Washington, D.C. maintained the dubious honor of having the highest per capita rate of automotive theft by a huge margin. But it was followed by California, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Missouri, Maryland, Texas, Alaska, and Washington State. However, every location other than Alaska saw an overall decrease year-over-year in terms of automotive crime.

[Images: Hyundai; Steve Lagreca/Shutterstock; Chevrolet; Honda]

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