Do high performance cars 'go' faster?

Published: January 2014

For many Australians, a motor vehicle is one of their most important possessions. This study analyses whether the attraction of many drivers to high performance vehicles also results in a greater attraction to thieves. It compares the theft rates of high performance vehicles with their standard performance counterparts. Vehicle profile, recovery rates and geographical differences across Australia were also analysed.

Image of two high performance cars nose to nose

Method

This study examined passenger and light commercial (PLC) vehicles with a year of manufacture from 2000 onwards as the majority of these vehicles had an Australian Standard immobiliser as standard equipment. There were 23,449 reported thefts in Australia during 2012/13 and 11,382,593 registrations of these PLC vehicles at 31 December 2012.

Every PLC theft/registration was categorised based on its power to weight ratio (PWR) into:

High performance - A PWR greater than 130 kilowatts (kW) per tonne
Standard performance - A PWR less than or equal to 130kW per tonne
Unknown - A PWR could not be determined.

The theft/registration was matched via the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to manufacturer specification data using CARS VFACTS/Polk Automotive dataset. The PWR was calculated by dividing the vehicle's maximum kW output by its tare weight. In a small number of cases where the tare weight was unavailable for a specific VIN record, the average tare weight of that particular make/model/series was used.

VINs were matched in 95.3 percent of thefts and 97.2 percent of registrations. Where no VIN match was possible, a PWR category was assigned only when a make/model or make/model/series combination always ended up in one PWR category. For example, a Subaru Impreza WRX was only a high performance vehicle. A PWR could not be determined for 546 thefts (2.3 percent) and 94,048 registrations (0.8 percent). These were excluded from the analyses.

Key findings 2012/13

There were 1,762 thefts of high performance vehicles in 2012/13, of which 35.8 percent were profit motivated (not recovered). In contrast, 21.9 percent of standard performance vehicles were profit motivated.
High performance vehicles were stolen 2.5 times more frequently than standard performance vehicles (4.9 compared to 1.9 thefts per 1,000 registrations).
The profit motivated theft rate of high performance vehicles was 4.1 times higher than standard performance vehicles.

The theft rate of high performance vehicles was greater than standard performance vehicles in all jurisdictions except the Northern Territory.
High performance vehicle theft rates per 1,000 registrations were highest in Western Australia (8.3) and Queensland (6.2). They were both above the national high performance theft rate of 4.9 thefts per 1,000 registrations.

- Number and percent of thefts, theft rate per 1,000 registrations and ratio, by PWR and recovery status, 2012/13

Jurisdiction	Recovery status	Number of thefts		% of AUS thefts		Theft rate per 1,000 registrations		Ratio High/ Standard
Jurisdiction	Recovery status	Standard	High	Standard	High	Standard	High	Ratio High/ Standard
ACT	Short term thefts	147	7	73.9	70	0.8	1.0	1.2
	Profit motivated thefts	52	3	26.1	30	0.3	0.4	1.5
	Total thefts	199	10	100	100	1.1	1.4	1.3
AUS	Short term thefts	16,517	1,131	78.1	64.2	1.5	3.1	2.1
	Profit motivated thefts	4,624	631	21.9	35.8	0.4	1.8	4.1
	Total thefts	21,141	1,762	100	100	1.9	4.9	2.5
NSW	Short term thefts	5,080	263	69.5	52.6	1.6	2.6	1.7
	Profit motivated thefts	2,231	237	30.5	47.4	0.7	2.4	3.4
	Total thefts	7,311	500	100	100	2.2	5.0	2.2
NT	Short term thefts	435	9	93.3	81.8	4.6	3.3	0.7
	Profit motivated thefts	31	2	6.7	18.2	0.3	0.7	2.3
	Total thefts	466	11	100	100	4.9	4.1	0.8
QLD	Short term thefts	4,495	289	84.5	72.6	1.9	4.5	2.3
	Profit motivated thefts	823	109	15.5	27.4	0.4	1.7	4.8
	Total thefts	5,318	398	100	100	2.3	6.2	2.7
SA	Short term thefts	754	57	80	54.3	1.0	2.1	2.2
	Profit motivated thefts	188	48	20	45.7	0.2	1.8	7.3
	Total thefts	942	105	100	100	1.2	3.9	3.2
TAS	Short term thefts	175	7	86.2	100	0.8	1.3	1.7
	Profit motivated thefts	28	0	13.8	0	0.1	0.0	0.0
	Total thefts	203	7	100	100	0.9	1.3	1.5
VIC	Short term thefts	2,605	175	73.6	54.9	0.9	1.7	1.8
	Profit motivated thefts	933	144	26.4	45.1	0.3	1.4	4.2
	Total thefts	3,538	319	100	100	1.3	3.1	2.5
WA	Short term thefts	2,826	324	89.3	78.6	2.2	6.5	3.0
	Profit motivated thefts	338	88	10.7	21.4	0.3	1.8	6.7
	Total thefts	3,164	412	100	100	2.5	8.3	3.4

In 2012/13, high performance vehicles accounted for one in every 13 thefts of PLC vehicles with a year of manufacture from 2000 onwards. One in every 32 registrations of PLC vehicles with a year of manufacture from 2000 onwards was high performance.

Western Australia had 23.4 percent of Australia's high performance thefts, but only 13.8 percent of registered vehicles. Similarly, Queensland had 22.6 percent of Australia's high performance thefts, but only 18.0 percent of registered vehicles.
Victoria was the opposite, with 18.1 percent of Australia's high performance thefts, but 28.5 percent of registered vehicles.

AUS - Number and percent of thefts and registrations, by PWR and jurisdiction, 2012/13

Jurisdiction	Number of thefts			% of AUS thefts			Number of registrations			% of AUS registrations
Jurisdiction	Standard	High	Total	Standard	High	Total	Standard	High	Total	Standard	High	Total
ACT	199	10	209	0.9	0.6	0.9	180,988	7,031	188,019	1.7	2.0	1.7
NSW	7,311	500	7,811	34.6	28.4	34.1	3,262,699	100,811	3,363,510	29.9	28.0	29.8
NT	466	11	477	2.2	0.6	2.1	95,466	2,716	98,182	0.9	0.8	0.9
QLD	5,318	398	5,716	25.2	22.6	25.0	2,329,451	64,638	2,394,089	21.3	18.0	21.2
SA	942	105	1,047	4.5	6.0	4.6	763,186	26,782	789,968	7.0	7.4	7.0
TAS	203	7	210	1.0	0.4	0.9	230,930	5,388	236,318	2.1	1.5	2.1
VIC	3,538	319	3,857	16.7	18.1	16.8	2,786,313	102,476	2,888,789	25.5	28.5	25.6
WA	3,164	412	3,576	15.0	23.4	15.6	1,279,977	49,693	1,329,670	11.7	13.8	11.8
AUS	21,141	1,762	22,903	100.0	100.0	100.0	10,929,010	359,535	11,288,545	100.0	100.0	100.0

Among vehicle segments, high performance vehicle theft rates per 1,000 registrations were highest for light commercial vehicles (7.1) followed by large passenger vehicles (4.7) and SUV/People movers (4.6).
Theft rates within the light commercial vehicle segment were 3.0 times higher than standard performance light commercial vehicles.
The top high performance theft targets were the HSV Maloo VU, FPV F6 Typhoon BF, HSV Maloo VY, HSV Maloo VE and HSV Maloo VZ. Each of these models had a theft rate in excess of 1 per 100 registrations.
Where a particular model had both a standard and high performance version, the high performance version usually had a higher theft rate (but not always). For example, the Toyota Aurion GSV40R theft rate was 5.2 times greater for the high performance version.

AUS - Top high performance theft targets ranked by theft rate per 1,000 registrations, 2012/13

Make/model/series	Number of high performance thefts	Number of high performance registrations*	High performance theft rate per 1,000 registrations
HSV Maloo VU	8	620	12.9
FPV F6 Typhoon BF	16	1,267	12.6
HSV Maloo VY	11	893	12.3
HSV Maloo VE	49	4,271	11.5
HSV Maloo VZ	15	1,328	11.3
Holden Commodore Ute VY	77	8,172	9.4
Holden Commodore Ute VZ	53	5,809	9.1
BMW M3 E46	14	1,563	9.0
HSV Senator VE	14	1,637	8.6
Holden Commodore VZ	39	4,809	8.1
Holden Commodore Ute VU	61	7,637	8.0
HSV Clubsport VT	7	902	7.8
FPV GT-P FG	4	516	7.8
Holden Commodore VX	88	11,634	7.6
HSV Clubsport VY	23	3,139	7.3
Holden Commodore VY	97	13,244	7.3
HSV Clubsport VZ	15	2,070	7.3
HSV Coupe V2	8	1,134	7.1
HSV GTS VE	48	6,929	6.9
Holden Calais VX	15	2,214	6.8

* Each vehicle needed a minimum of 500 registrations to be included in the table above and below.

AUS - Comparison of standard and high performance vehicle models by theft rate per 1,000 registrations, 2012/13

Make/model/series	Number of thefts		Number of registrations*		Theft rate per 1,000 registrations		Ratio High/ Standard
Make/model/series	Standard	High	Standard	High	Standard	High	Ratio High/ Standard
Toyota Aurion GSV40R	138	5	78,730	548	1.8	9.1	5.2
Subaru Impreza WRX MY01_02	13	8	4,639	660	2.8	12.1	4.3
Mitsubishi Lancer CJ	157	6	95,400	935	1.6	6.4	3.9
Mazda 3 BK	226	7	157,045	1,506	1.4	4.6	3.2
Subaru Impreza WRX MY03_05	19	9	5,311	937	3.6	9.6	2.7
Holden Calais VX	11	15	4,284	2,214	2.6	6.8	2.6
Holden Commodore VZ	352	39	110,912	4,809	3.2	8.1	2.6
Holden Commodore Ute VU	37	61	11,225	7,637	3.3	8.0	2.4
Holden Commodore VY	414	97	124,673	13,244	3.3	7.3	2.2
Porsche Cayenne MY02_06	5	5	1,166	547	4.3	9.1	2.1
Holden Commodore Ute VZ	70	53	15,950	5,809	4.4	9.1	2.1
Holden Commodore VX	492	88	133,733	11,634	3.7	7.6	2.1
Ford Falcon BA	444	93	139,105	15,806	3.2	5.9	1.8
Ford Falcon Ute BA	136	47	43,749	8,292	3.1	5.7	1.8
Holden Commodore Ute VY	64	77	12,355	8,172	5.2	9.4	1.8
Ford Fairmont BA	45	5	17,809	1,125	2.5	4.4	1.8
Ford Falcon BF	242	22	80,613	4,317	3.0	5.1	1.7
Porsche Boxster 986	2	6	642	1,139	3.1	5.3	1.7
Holden Commodore Ute VE	100	134	27,586	21,947	3.6	6.1	1.7
Ford Falcon Ute BF	76	12	30,202	2,934	2.5	4.1	1.6
Holden Commodore VE	573	173	193,345	36,143	3.0	4.8	1.6
Ford Falcon Ute FG	63	17	32,119	5,473	2.0	3.1	1.6
Holden Calais VE	36	20	19,963	7,054	1.8	2.8	1.6
Chrysler 300C MY04_12	7	14	3,296	4,278	2.1	3.3	1.5
Holden Caprice WM	7	30	2,607	7,580	2.7	4.0	1.5
Mazda 3 BL	132	2	143,700	1,640	0.9	1.2	1.3
Subaru Impreza WRX MY06_07	17	4	4,161	739	4.1	5.4	1.3
Holden Calais VY	21	7	5,957	1,710	3.5	4.1	1.2
Holden Calais VZ	25	4	4,861	712	5.1	5.6	1.1
Ford Falcon AU	312	9	104,341	3,035	3.0	3.0	1.0
Holden Statesman WL	16	7	2,546	1,307	6.3	5.4	0.9
Mazda RX8	10	17	1,884	3,867	5.3	4.4	0.8
Ford Falcon FG	314	36	83,927	12,193	3.7	3.0	0.8
Holden Statesman WM	13	3	4,067	1,202	3.2	2.5	0.8
BMW 530i E60	5	1	2,582	670	1.9	1.5	0.8
Porsche Cayenne MY07+	7	4	2,209	1,676	3.2	2.4	0.8
Volkswagen Passat 3C	27	1	19,403	1,158	1.4	0.9	0.6
Holden Statesman WK	15	7	2,520	2,805	6.0	2.5	0.4
Holden Crewman VZ	67	1	16,212	754	4.1	1.3	0.3
BMW Z4 E85	4	1	847	924	4.7	1.1	0.2

The theft rate increased with vehicle age, but did so at a faster rate for performance vehicles. In a vehicle's first year on the road, the theft rate of a high performance vehicle was 1.6 times greater than a standard performance vehicle. Twelve years later the average theft rate of a high performance vehicle had increased by a factor of 12.0 and the difference between high and standard performance theft rate had increased by 5.3 times.

The median Glass's Guide value estimate of high performance vehicles stolen was $19,400 compared to $14,600 for a standard performance vehicle.
The total estimated value of high performance thefts in 2012/13 was $47.6 million. Short term thefts were valued at $34.1 million and profit motivated thefts were estimated to be valued at $13.5 million.

AUS - Theft rate by PWR and vehicle age, 2012/13

Vehicle age at time of theft (years)	High	Standard
0	1.1	0.7
1	3.7	1.7
2	3.1	1.4
3	3.6	1.5
4	4.1	1.5
5	5.2	1.6
6	6.5	1.9
7	4.7	1.9
8	4.9	2.2
9	5.7	2.4
10	8.3	2.6
11	7.0	2.6
12	13.7	2.6

AUS - Proportion of thefts by PWR and Glass's guide value estimate, 2012/13

Estimated value range	High	Standard
> $0 to < $5,000	0.9	7.2
$5,000 to < $10,000	15.9	22.6
$10,000 to < $20,000	34.7	37.0
$20,000 to < $30,000	21.2	19.6
$30,000 to < $50,000	16.7	10.9
$50,000+	10.6	2.8

South East Queensland recorded the highest number of high performance vehicle thefts with the Cities of Gold Coast (96 thefts), Brisbane (89) and Logan (52) topping the list of Local Government Areas across Australia.
With more than one in five thefts being a high performance vehicle, the Cities of Rockingham and Swan in Western Australia (WA) had a very high percentage of high performance thefts. The Cities of Melville, Wanneroo and Mandurah in WA also recorded large proportions of high performance vehicle thefts (approximately one in every six thefts).
When recovered, high performance vehicles were recovered a median distance of 8.3 kms away from the centroid of the suburb where they were stolen. This was just over twice the distance of standard performance vehicles (3.8 kms).

High performance vehicles were more likely to be taken from a residence (59.4 percent) compared to standard performance vehicles (50.0 percent). Theft location was based on data from NSW, SA and WA only.
In general high performance vehicles were more likely than standard vehicles to be recovered with damage and various components taken. The major exception was that there was no difference in the proportion of vehicles being recovered burnt.

Map of the 1,758^# high performance vehicle thefts in Australia, 2012/13

Getting started - Click or tap a motorcycle theft cluster to zoom in. Zoom with your mouse scroll wheel, or multi-touch zoom on mobile browsers.

Legend: 1 to 9 10 to 49 50 to 149 >= 150 thefts Theft clusters are approximated from the suburb centroid (mid-point).

This report is based on high performance motor vehicle thefts reported to Police (as defined in the method section above). The high/standard ratio was calculated using a floating point number and results were rounded for presentation in the tables. ^# Four high performance thefts from Queensland were not included as they had an unknown theft suburb. Recovery status is as at 30 June 2013 for TAS and WA and 31 July 2013 for all other states and territories.

The National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council (NMVTRC) acknowledges all police services, registration authorities, participating insurers, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, Glass's Information Services and Insurance Australia Group for the supply of the data on which this report is compiled. Theft incident data may be subject to later revision by the data providers. This work is copyright. Material may be reproduced for personal, non-commercial use or for use within your organisation with attribution to the NMVTRC. © 2020 NMVTRC. All rights reserved.

Theft facts

Do high performance cars 'go' faster?

Key findings 2012/13

Map of the 1,758# high performance vehicle thefts in Australia, 2012/13

Map of the 1,758^# high performance vehicle thefts in Australia, 2012/13