Acko has brought out its second edition of Theft Report ‘Theft & the City 2024’ that reveals a 2X spike in vehicle thefts in India between 2022 - 2023, with Delhi continuing to top the charts.
Further the report highlights that 47% of all stolen cars are Maruti Suzuki. Cars with the greatest demand and consequently, longer delivery timelines are most susceptible to thefts. Therefore, India’s most popular hatchbacks - the Maruti Wagon R and Maruti Swift are the most frequently stolen cars in Delhi NCR. They are closely followed by the Hyundai Creta, Hyundai Grand i10, and Maruti Swift Dzire in third, fourth, and fifth place respectively.
Interestingly, 2023 was a year for bike thefts. India witnessed a 9.25x increase in bike thefts as compared to cars. India’s top-selling bike Hero Splendor took the first place for the most stolen bikes, followed by Honda Activa. The Royal Enfield Classic 350 made a repeat appearance in 2023 as a favourite amongst robbers. Honda Dio and Hero Passion were the new entrants on the thieves list.
Founded in 2016 by Varun Dua, Acko’s entire process is designed to provide a better customer experience and to eliminate the pain points associated with the traditional insurance model, with processes that require zero paperwork, from purchases and claims to renewals.
The report reveals that Delhi is followed by Chennai and Bengaluru. These two cities witnessed a sharp spike in vehicle theft rising from 5% in 2022 to 10.5% in 2023 and 9% in 2022 to 10.2% in 2023 respectively. Meanwhile, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Kolkata have emerged as cities with the least number of vehicle thefts in the country.
The first edition of the report was launched in 2022 that analysed data from the company to discover the most theft prone areas in India during the year.
Diving deep into the vehicle theft scenario of New Delhi, its overall share of vehicle thefts in comparison to other cities in India came down from 56% in 2022 to 37% in 2023. While Bhajanpura and Uttam Nagar continue being the most theft-prone areas from 2022, the report reveals three new locations in the northern part of the geography appeared as the most theft-prone areas namely, Shahdara, Patparganj, and Badarpur.
To put this in perspective, one vehicle is stolen every 14 minutes in the national capital region as per a media report, with 105 cases of vehicle theft being reported, on average, every day in 2023. To be more precise, in 2023, the most vehicle thefts occurred on three days – Tuesday, Sunday, and Thursday. While one would need to be cautious, especially on the three days, it is important to note that thefts were distributed evenly across the seven days of the week.
There is more to these robbers' skills than we know. As cars get more technology-heavy, so do the thieves. The new-age cars come with advanced safety features such as keyless entry which operates on barcodes that are embedded in windshields. Thieves scan these barcodes and share the codes offshore to unlock cars and even gain remote access.
Interestingly, 2023 was a year for bike thefts. India witnessed a 9.25x increase in bike thefts as compared to cars. India’s top-selling bike Hero Splendor took the first place for the most stolen bikes, followed by Honda Activa. The Royal Enfield Classic 350 made a repeat appearance in 2023 as a favourite amongst robbers. Honda Dio and Hero Passion were the new entrants on the thieves list.
As per the Gurugram Police, Hero Splendor, Splendor Plus, Hero CD Deluxe, and Hero HF Deluxe constitute over 60% of the total two-wheelers stolen in Gurugram. This interest in Hero bikes, according to the police, is attributed to higher resale value and the demand for spare parts of Hero bikes spare parts.
There are several reasons which make Delhi NCR the vehicle theft capital of India but some of the most pertinent ones are the lack of parking space in buildings and colonies, leading to vehicles being parked on the roads. As per The Hindu, in 2023, Delhi Police official data says they received 7,328 calls reporting violent disputes over parking on neighborhood roads which is more than the number of calls received in 2022 and 2021.
In the case of vehicle theft, customers should immediately inform the police and the insurance company. Submit the FIR copy with vehicle registration certification, driver’s license etc., to the insurer and customers might also have to submit the original car keys. The police will issue a non-traceable certificate if they fail to locate the vehicle in the stipulated time frame. Based on the certificate, the insurer will settle the claim as per the terms and conditions specified in the insurance policy.
Shedding light on the second edition of the ACKO vehicle theft report, Animesh Das, Chief Executive Officer(subject to regulatory approval) at ACKO, said, “The surge in vehicle ownership brings with it rise in vehicle theft cases. Our second edition of the vehicle theft report brings insights and perspective into the issue after delving deep into 2000 claims received in 2023. By understanding the underlying factors, our aim is to empower individuals with knowledge and promote heightened awareness on the importance of opting for the right insurance policy to safeguard themselves from unexpected situations.”